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C E I U E S 



OF THE 



HOUSE OF AUSTRIA 



AGAINST MANKIND. 



PROVED BY EXTRACTS 

FROM THE HISTORIES OF C02E, SCHILLER, ROBERTSON, GRATTAN, AND SISMONDI, 

"WITH MRS. M. L. PUTNAM^ HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF HUNGARY, 

AND ITS RELATIONS WITH AUSTRIA, PUBLISHED IN MAY, 1850. 



EDITED 

BY E. Pi "PEABODY. 



JSWDItDr jBMtiOK- 



NEW-YORK: 
G. P. PUTNAM, 10 PARK PLACE 

1852. 



JEM* 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1852, 

By rodolphe garrique, 

In the Cleric's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of Ne\v»Yoi'k. 



PREFACE 



SECOND EDITION. 



This work was first published for the benefit of the Hun- 
garian Fund, on the understanding (which proved a misun- 
derstanding), of a certain autograph acknowledgment which 
failed to arrive at the time expected. 

Those who had the care of the publication consequently 
took the liberty, without the leave or knowledge of the Edi- 
tor, who was absent, to mutilate the correspondence that 
formed the Preface, making it irrelevant within itself, and 
insignificant altogether. The Preface is therefore wholly 
left out in this edition, and an Analytic Index is prefixed; 
and the stereotypes have passed into the hands of the pre- 
sent publisher, who republishes it, confident that these im- 
portant passages of unquestionable history will benefit the 
Hungarian cause, by showing its necessity and justice, al- 
though it is impossible to benefit the Hungarian Fund by 
the proceeds of the work. 



ANALYTICAL INDEX. 



Biographical Notices of Rodolphe of Hapsburgh, p. 4; of Albert I., 
p. 15; Frederic & Leopold, 22; Albert II., 21; Rodolphe & Fre- 
deric, 31; Albert III. & Leopold II., 32; Albert V., 39; Sigis- 
mund, 40; Charles V., 51; Ferdinand I., 02; Philip II., 143; 
Ferdinand II., 79; Leopold I., Emperor, 188; Joseph I., 190; 
Charles VI., 191; Maria Theresa, 179 & 192; Joseph II., 160,& 
192; Leopold II., 193; Francis, 196. 

Destruction of Constitutional Rights of Austria and Styria, 16; 20; 
44. 

Attempted destruction of those of Switzerland, 16 ; 20 ; 32 ; 40 to 48. 

Destruction of those of Bohemia, 17; 39; 64. 

Italy and its Conquered Rights, 91 — 110. 

Netherlands do. do., 136—174. 

Poland and its Partition, 176—181. 

Hungary, and the War upon its Constitution, 20; 39; 62; 182—230. 



ERRATA 



Rulhire for Rulhtire, pp. 176 & 177. 
Philip II. for ///., last line of p. 148. 



CRIMES 

O F 

THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA 

AGAINST MANKIND. 



Frederic Schlegel, in that extraordinary piece of sophistry, 
called the Philosophy of History, would have it " that the final 
cause of the Universe was to build up the Romano-Germanic 
Empire as the Metropolis and bulwark of Christendom." 

This work, the substance of a course of eighteen lectures, de- 
livered in Vienna, has little chance of making any great im- 
pression on mankind; for the genius which in his younger 
days guided Schlegel in surveying the literatures of the world, 
and inspired his eloquent account of them, seems naturally 
enough to have deserted him, when he yoked himself as a 
drayhorse to the car of despotism and superstition. Nothing 
short of imperial authority could have compelled any human 
audience to have endured eighteen lectures of such dark meta- 
physics ; but this, as we are exultingly told, was abundantly 
exerted, even by example, for the Imperial family attended in 
person ! 

That " Might makes Right " is a principle asserted not ex- 
clusively by the House of Austria, or rather by the House of 
Hapsburgh ; (for we must not entirely absorb Austria in the 
House of Hapsburgh. Recent events have shown that Austria 
also has an entity of its own, and that so far as it exists, it 
has interests antagonistic to those of the reigning family). 

But the Imperial House makes pretensions which especially 
challenge mankind to bring it to the bar for righteous judgment. 
From the day when Rodolph the First wrote to Pope Gregory 
X. to confirm his election to the Empire, even to the present 

1 



2 

hour, this family has professed to be the elect Servant of the 
Most High, for the benefit of Mankind. Out of its own mouth 
shall it be judged. 

1 " Conscious, says Rodolph, in that memorable document, "of 
my own deficiency, and trembling with astonishment and fear, 
I hesitated whether I should accept so eminent a station ; until, 
at length, trusting in Him, who in the high and ineffable de- 
crees of his Providence, changes as He wills the condition of 
mortals, adds strength to the feeble and gives eloquence to the 
simple, I assumed courage sufficient to venture, weak as I am, 
upon so laborious and difficult an office, hoping that neither 
the grace of God, nor the favour of His Holy Church, nor your 
paternal affection will be wanting to me. Turning, therefore, 
all my thoughts to Him under whose authority we live, and 
placing all my expectations on you alone, I fall down before the 
feet of your Holiness, beseeching you, with the most earnest 
supplications, to favour me with your accustomed kindness in 
my present undertaking ; and that you will deign by your me- 
diation with the Most High to support my cause, which I may 
truly call the cause of the whole German Empire, that He may 
condescend to direct my steps according to His will, and lead 
me in the ways of His commandments. That I may be enabled 
therefore, successfully to perform what is most acceptable to Him 
and to His Holy Church, may it graciously please your Holiness 
to crown me with the Imperial Diadem, for I trust I am both 
able and willing to undertake and accomplish whatever you and 
the Holy Church shall think proper to impose upon me." 

Such is the great and solemn pretension. And now in the 
first place mankind asks, who art thou, Rodolph of Hapsburgh, 
professing thyself humbly and unwillingly to be taking upon 
thyself the cares of Empire, out of mere devotion to God and 
to the human race whom God would lead, as a bridegroom leads 
his bride to the altar, giving himself to her and for her ? Has 
then the Christian Charity which is greater than Faith and 
Hope and "seeketh not her own" marked thy life's conduct up to 
this time ? And what are the conditions of the compact between 
thyself and the earthly representative of the Divine Providence ? 
Are they that thou shalt enquire into the genius and institutions 
of all the nations that shall be united under thee, with a view 
to vindicate to every man the liberty wherewith Christ would 
make him free ; to give scope for the perfect development of every 



material resource of the countries they inhabit, and of every in- 
tellectual and moral opportunity that the Past, the Present, and 
the Future shall present? 

Thine own words challenge the enquiry ; the pretensions of 
all thy posterity, ever renewed', repeat the challenge. FrOm 
the mountains of Switzerland, from the plains of Italy, from the 
rocks of Catalonia, from ruined and emasculated Bohemia, from 
partitioned Poland, from long betrayed though ever generous 
Hungary, even from thine own Tyrol and Styria, and Austria, 
come up the accusers, and impartial History gives utterance in 
some small measure to the voice of their manifold accusation. 

The present volume will principally consist of a series of ex- 
tracts from different historical works, in which the crimes of the 
House of Hapsburgh against liberty and law are incidentally 
related. There seems to be a call, just now, that the testimony 
of History upon this subject should be laid before the American 
people. Their heart is touched by the events of the last three 
years, and it is well that their sensibility should have the sup- 
port of their reason, enlightened by the truth, that they may 
not be the victims of every newspaper paragraph which venal 
partisans of the cause of legitimacy in Europe may have the 
art to insinuate into the current periodicals ; and which presume 
upon the common ignorance in this country, of the details of 
European history, that comes to us at best only through books 
written more or less in the spirit of monarchy. A history of 
Europe written from the republican point of view, a history of 
nations and not of their governors, is the desideratum for the 
people of these United States. But such a work requires both 
genius and integrity of soul to conceive, and a vast industry 
properly to execute, the discovery of the exact truth being in- 
finitely the greatest part of the labor required. We may only 
avail ourselves at this moment of such history as is written, and 
if something of the force of the statement is lost by the frag- 
mentary nature of our work, on the other hand something will 
be gained to the argument from the consideration, that the 
passages brought as witnesses were not written primarily to 
serve the object to which we direct them. They are largely 
taken from conservative writings. Archdeacon Coxe gathered 
his materials in Vienna, and himself states that " to this family 
Europe owes its preservation," and that it has "formed the 
great bulwark of political freedom J " To the tissue of violence 



and rapacity which forms the life of each successive head of the 
family, he always appends an eulogy, sometimes ludicrously in 
contrast with the facts he has related, but which is presumptive 
evidence that he would not make those facts worse than they 
were. From the first chapter of his History of the House of 
Austria we extract the origin of the family, with a memoir 
which elucidates the personal character of the author of the let- 
ter to the pope, quoted above. We abridge all we extract by 
making as many omissions as possible ; but the exploring of the 
sources from which we make our extracts will show that the 
omissions in no instance falsify the facts related. We purpose- 
ly leave out the false coloring which the author's own remarks 
sometimes give to these facts, together with the numerous epi- 
sodes which make the narrative heavy, and weaken the moral 
impression of it, by scattering and wearying the attention. 

Ethico, Duke of Alsace in the seventh century, and Guntram, 
Count of Alsace and Brisgau in the tenth century, were the 
most important ancestors of the House of Hapsburgh. Gun- 
tram's grandson Werner, bishop of Strasburg, built the castle 
which gives name to the House, near Windisch, the site of the 
Roman colony, Vindonessa .; and a nephew of his, likewise 
named Werner, took the title of Count of Hapsburgh in 1046. 
A Count of Hapsburgh, called Albert IV., went on a crusade in 
1232, and died at Askalon in 1240. He was the father of the 
great founder of the imperial power of the family. 

"Rodolph was born in 1218, probably at the ancient castle 
of Limburgh, or Limper in Brisgau, on the confines of Alsace, 
and was presented at the font by the Emperor Frederic II., to 
whose house he was distantly allied. Under the auspices of 
his warlike father he passed his youth in the court and camp 
of Frederic II., and was initiated at an early age in the use of 
arms. He was trained to wrestling and running, was skilled 
in horsemanship, excelled in throwing the javelin, and being 
endowed with great strength and vigor, gave eminent proofs 
of superiority over his companions in all military exercises. 

"On the death of his father, Rodolph inherited only the 
Landgraviate of Upper Alsace, the Burgraviate of Rheinfelden, 
and in conjunction with his brothers, succeeded to the County 
of Hapsburgh, the inhabitants of which being free, were ex- 
empted from arbitrary taxes ; to some scattered domains in 
Suabia and Brisgau ; and the advocacies or prefectureships of 



a few of the neighboring towns and districts. Though in pos- 
session of such confined territories, Rodolph followed the 
example of the German princes, who considered peace as in- 
glorious, and sought to aggrandise their fortunes by pillage or 
conquest. He maintained a splendid establishment, formed a 
chosen band of troops, collected adventurers from all nations, 
more than his scanty revenues would support; and eager to 
signalise himself in arms, gave full scope to his enterprising ge- 
nius. For some time he found no respite from war ; he was 
either engaged in protecting the surrounding states from the 
incursions of banditti and depredations of the powerful barons, 
or under various pretences invading the possessions of others, 
and defending his own property from the encroachments of 
ambitious neighbours. 

"The first of his exploits in his native country was in 1242, 
against Hugh of Tuffenstein, a young baron, who had provoked 
his resentment by contumelious expressions. Rodolph invested 
a fortress of considerable strength belonging to his adversary, 
and having failed in attempting to take it by storm, obtained 
entrance by bribing the sentinels, and made himself master of 
the place, notwithstanding the desperate valour of Hugh, who 
was killed in the defence. 

"He next turned his arms against his uncle and guardian 
Rodolph of Lauffenburg, whom he accused of embezzling a part 
of his patrimony. He found, however, an intrepid and enter- 
prising opponent in his cousin Godfrey, the son of Rodolph: 
and after carrying havoc into each other's territories, the two 
relatives effected a reconciliation, by which Rodolph obtained 
some compensation for his demands. This accommodation was 
succeeded by an intimate friendship between the two youthful 
heroes, who in this short contest had learned to admire and 
emulate each other. 

" We next find Rodolph engaged in hostilities with his uncle 
Hartman, count of Kyburgh. The dominions of the House of 
Kyburgh were at this time jointly possessed by Hartman the 
elder, second son of Ulric, and his nephew Hartman the youn- 
ger. In order to find resources for the pay of his retainers, 
Rodolph had obtained from his uncle a sum of money as the 
arrears of his mother's portion. Encouraged by the facility with 
which he succeeded in this demand, and pressed by his ne- 
cessities, he made further exactions, and at length claimed a 



considerable part of the territories belonging to the two Hart- 
mans. This claim being rejected he instantly invaded, in 1244, 
the dominions of Hartman the elder, occupied Baden, Winter- 
thur, and Mersbnrgh, extorted a considerable largess as the price 
of their restoration, and a promise, that should his uncle and 
cousin die without issue male, the possessions of the House of 
Kyburgh should revert to him. By this violence he indeed ob- 
tained a sum of money for his immediate necessities ; but for- 
feited the affections of his uncle, and nearly lost the territories 
which he was entitled to inherit ; for Hartman, with the consent of 
his nephew, transferred to the bishop of Strasburgh the counties 
of Baden, Lentzburgh, and Kyburgh, and received them in re- 
turn for himself and his nephew as fiefs of the see. 

" The chronicles, which detail his minutest actions, scarcely 
again mention him till the year 1253, when he, engaged with 
other nobles of the Imperial or Ghibeline party against Bertold, 
bishop of Basle, penetrated into the suburbs of the city by night, 
and burnt a nunnery, for which he was excommunicated by Pope 
Innocent IV. It was probably to obtain the revocation of this 
sentence, that we find him serving under Ottocar, king of Bo- 
hemia, against the Prussians, a (Slavonian) people then in a state 
of paganism, who were defending their liberties, in opposition to 
the Teutonic knights, and against whom the pope had published 
a crusade. He afterwards assisted Ottocar in his war with Beia, 
king of Hungary ; and perhaps had a share in the complete 
victory which insured to the king of Bohemia the possession of 
Austria and Styria, and confined Bela within the limits of Hun- 
gary. 

" On his return to his native country he was involved in a se- 
ries of wars in Alsace and Switzerland. Finding the bishop 
and citizens of Strasburgh in open hostilities against each other, 
he assisted the bishop, signalised himself by his valour and 
activity, and compelled the citizens to conclude a truce. At the 
same time he effected a reconciliation with his uncle Hartman, 
who, pleased with his change of conduct, and struck with his 
rising fame, endeavoured to recover from the bishop of Stras- 
burgh the deed of donation which he had made of his territories. 
Rodolph urged the same request to the bishop during the truce, 
recapitulated his services, and tendered his future assistance ; 
but meeting with a refusal, he replied, " Since you pay no re- 
gard to the greatest services, and seem inclined rather to offend 



than conciliate your friends, Rodolph of Hapsburgh, instead of 
your ally, is become your most inveterate enemy." Laying his 
hand on his sword, he added, " While I am master of this wea- 
pon, neither you nor any other person shall wrest from me those 
dominions, which I am to inherit by right of my mother ; and 
since, in contradiction to every principle of justice, you grasp at 
the possessions of others, know that you shall shortly lose your 
own." Nor was this threat uttered in vain ; for in 1259 the ci- 
tizens of Strasburgh, availing themselves of the breach, requested 
Rodolph to accept the supremacy of their city, and the command 
of their troops. He joyfully received this well-timed offer, and 
repairing to take possession of his new charge, the inhabitants 
went out in crowds to meet their deliverer, hailed him as a per- 
son sent by heaven, and considered his presence as a sure omen 
of victory. 

" By espousing the cause of the citizens, Rodolph acted with 
equal prudence and judgment. The citizens in those days were 
mostly soldiers, accustomed to defend their liberties against the 
vexations of their own nobles, and of the neighboring barons. 
They were animated with an undaunted spirit ; from the nature 
of their governments, they were more subject to control, and 
more obedient to military order than the lawless retainers of 
the nobles; and their industiy and commerce supplied the 
means of supporting the burdens of war. From their instruc- 
tion in public schools, and from the force of example, their 
minds were more enlightened, their comprehension keener, 
and they were more calculated for those ambuscades, feints, 
and stratagems, of which the art of war at that time principally 
consisted. Rodolph, in the character of their captain, general, 
or advocate, won their confidence and esteem. Assisted by 
their spirit, and supported by their riches, he was enabled to 
humble the rivals of his power. 

"Among others the citizens of Zurich, in 1265, chose him as 
their prefect, and invested him with the command of their 
troops ; and this appointment involved him in a war with the 
count of Regensberg, and a formidable confederacy of the neigh- 
boring barons, which highly contributed to his subsequent great- 
ness. 

" During the troubles of the interregnum in the German em- 
pire, the burghers of Zurich, which was an imperial city, had 
gradually acquired considerable privileges, and began to assume 



the administration of their own affairs. In order to strengthen 
themselves against the power of the nobles, they contracted al- 
liances with the sister republics, and endeavored to secure a 
protector among their neighboring princes. For this purpose 
they despatched an embassy to Lutold, baron of Regensberg, 
whose territories almost surrounded Zurich, and extended along 
the eastern shore of the lake, as far as Rapperschwyl. Lutold 
answered the messengers with scorn : ' Tell your citizens that 
Zurich is surrounded by my subjects as a fish in a net; let the 
inhabitants surrender themselves to me, and I will govern them 
with mildness.' In this strait the citizens turned to Rodolph 
of Hapsburgh, who accepted their offer, repaired to Zurich, and 
assumed the command. Undaunted by the confederacy which 
Lutold had formed with the count of Tockenburgk, and other 
neighboring barons, he placed his hopes of success in celerity 
and decision. He collected his own troops and those of Zurich ; 
drew assistance from the cities of Alsace, and the circle of the 
Lower Rhine ; summoned to his standard the mountaineers of 
Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, and marched against the enemy." 

We omit the details of his success in this instance, and of his 
surprising the castles of Balder, and of Utleberg. 

"After a series of similar stratagems, sieges, and other engage- 
ments, his arms were crowned with repeated successes ; and the 
confederate barons, struck with terror, exclaimed, 'All opposi- 
tion is fruitless ! Rodolph is invincible ! ' 

It was when Rodolph was engaged in a war, growing out of 
his possession of Kyburgh, whose details we omit, that having 
retired to his tent, he was awakened at midnight by his nephew 
Frederic of Hohenzollern, burgrave of Nuremberg, with the in- 
telligence that he was unanimously chosen King of the Romans 
by the electors of Germany. In the first moments of surprise, 
Rodolph could not give credit to this unexpected intelligence ; 
and even expressed his indignation against the burgrave for at- 
tempting to deceive and insult him. " Convinced, however, by 
his solemn protestations, and by letters from the electors, he re- 
covered from his surprise, and joyfully accepted the proffered 
dignity. The news of his election being quickly disseminated, 
the citizens of Basle opened their gates, notwithstanding the 
remonstrances of the bishop. 'We have taken arms,' they 
said, ^against Rodolph, Count of Hapsburgh, and not against 
the King of the Romans.' The bishop acceded to terms of 



peace, the prisoners on both sides were released, and Ro- 
dolph's followers admitted in triumph. The new sovereign was 
received amidst general acclamations ; the citizens took the oath 
of fidelity, and presented him with a considerable largess to- 
wards defraying the expenses of his coronation. The bishop, 
chagrined at the success and elevation of his rival, struck his 
forehead with vexation, and profanely exclaimed, " Sit fast, great 
God, or Rodolph will occupy thy throne ! " 

We omit the account which Coxe gives of the general state 
of Germany as aside from our purpose. He proceeds to tell us 
that in an unfavorable aspect of affairs, the electors met at 
Frankfort in September 12*73, and two candidates presented 
themselves, Alphonso King of Castile, and Ottocar King of Bo- 
hemia ; but, contrary to all expectation, the nomination fell on 
Rodolph, Count of Hapsburgh. 

" Many circumstances contributed to favor his advancement, 
among which the most effectual were the views and interests 
of the seven electors, by whom the right of nomination was at 
this time assumed ; namely, the Archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, 
and Treves, the King of Bohemia, Otho Margrave of Branden- 
burgh, Albert Duke of Saxony, and Louis Duke of Bavaria 
and Count Palatine, who seems to have possessed a joint vote 
with his brother Henry. Of these, the most strenuous in the 
cause of Rodolph was Werner of Eppenstein, Elector of Mentz. 
On his nomination to the archiepiscopal see of Mentz, Werner 
had repaired to Rome, in order to receive the confirmation of 
his office, and the pallium from the hands of the Pope; and 
as the road was infested with banditti, he was escorted by 
Rodolph himself across the Alps, and treated on his return 
with equal cordiality and magnificence. Werner, captivated by 
his attentions, character, and talents, expressed a wish that he 
might live to repay the obligation. Such an opportunity now 
presented itself, and Werner used all his influence o secure the 
nomination of Rodolph. He secretly gained the Electors of 
Cologne and Treves ; and found means to influence the secular 
Electors, by the prospect of a matrimonial alliance with their 
future chief, who had six daughters unmarried. His intrigues 
and recommendation were strongly supported by Frederic of 
Hohenzollern, the friend and relation of Rodolph, who had 
great influence with the secular electors, contributed to remove 
all obstacles, and concluded the negotiation in his name. 
1* 



10 

" The peculiar situation of Louis the Severe, Duke of Bava- 
ria, induced him to accept the hand of Matilda, eldest daughter 
of Rodolph. He had espoused Mary, princess of Brabant, 
and on a vague suspicion of infidelity had put her to death. 
Although he had received absolution from Pope Alexander IV., 
on condition of founding a convent of Chartreux, yet discon- 
tents still prevailing among the Bavarian nobles, who were con- 
vinced of Mary's innocence, rendered him apprehensive of the 
interference of a future emperor. For this reason he received 
with joy the proposal of Matilda in marriage ; and agreed to 
support the nomination of a prince, whose interests would be 
thus strongly connected with his own. Two of the other secu- 
lar Electors, Albert of Saxony and Otho of Brandenburgh, were 
likewise gained by the hope of espousing Agnes and Hedwig. 

"The character and situation of the Count of Hapsburgh 
were admirably suited for the emergency, and to the views of 
the Electors, who desired an emperor, but dreaded a master. 
His great civil and military talents rendered him a fit person to 
direct the reins of government, while from the comparatively 
small extent of his possessions, he was not deemed sufficiently 
powerful to wrest from the Electors those fiefs which they had 
appropriated during the troubles of the empire, or to rule Ger- 
many with the same despotic sway as the great chiefs of the 
Houses of Franconia and Suabia. 

" Werner having succeeded in obtaining six voices, artfully 
proposed that the princes should abide by the nomination of 
Louis of Bavaria. He either gained the consent of the Bohe- 
mian ambassadors to this compromise, by insinuating that the 
choice would fall on Ottocar, or prevailed on the other Electors 
to reject his vote, and to allow two voices to the Bavarian 
princes. Louis accordingly nominated Kodolph of Haps- 
burgh ; the protests and remonstrances of the Bohemian am- 
bassadors were disregarded, and the election of Rodolph 
declared unanimous by the concurrence of the seven Electors. 
The new King of the Romans was inaugurated at Aix-la- 
Chapelle, with the ancient crown of Charlemagne; and the 
ceremony was followed by the marriage of his two daughters, 
Matilda and Agnes, with Louis of Bavaria and Albert Duke of 
Saxony, which increased his weight and influence, and secured 
to him the assistance of those powerful princes. 



11 

"His situation was full of difficulty and danger. He was 
threatened with the vengeance of his disappointed rival Ottocar, 
and he was opposed by the Anti-Csesar, Alphonso of Castile ; 
both of whom refused to acknowledge his election, and sent 
ambassadors with large presents, to obtain the countenance of 
the Pope. Fully sensible therefore of the perils with which he 
was surrounded, Rodolph did not rely on the unanimity of 
his election, nor on his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle ; but 
turned his first and principal attention to secure the ratification 
of the reigning pontiff. It was on this occasion he wrote the 
letter to Gregory X. already quoted. 

" The ambassadors of Rodolph Were received with compla- 
cency by the Pope, and obtained his sanction by agreeing in 
the name of then master to the same conditions which Otho 
IV. and Frederic n. had sworn to observe, i. e., by confirming 
all the donations of the emperors, his predecessors, to the papal 
see ; by promising to accept no office or dignity in any of the 
papal territories, particularly in the city of Rome, without the 
consent of the Pope ; by agreeing not to disturb, nor permit 
the house of Anjou to be disturbed in the possession of Naples 
and Sicily, which they held as fiefs from the Roman see ; and 
by engaging to undertake in person a crusade against the in- 
fidels. In consequence of these concessions, Gregory gave the 
new King of the Romans his most cordial support, refused to 
listen to the overtures of Ottocar, and after much difficulty 
finally succeeded in persuading Alphonso to renounce his pre- 
tensions to the Imperial dignity." 

The foregoing extract is a commentary on the letter to the 
Pope first quoted. We must now proceed to illustrate the 
career of Rodolph and his successors, as Emperors, in order to 
show how the system of rapine which had marked his private 
action, became the rule thereafter, in spite of the prayers which 
he craved from the Pope, that the most High should lead him 
in the ways of His commandments, to successfully perform 
what is most acceptable to Him ! 

And here we must draw a distinction. Rodolph contended 
in the spirit of rapine with other kings animated by the same 
spirit, and his successors do the same. We do not care to 
examine all these struggles of selfishness with selfishness. 
What we wish to select from history, is the contest of these 
rulers with the liberty and welfare of the nations, the posses- 



12 

sion of which was the subject matter of dispute. It is impos- 
sible by means of any history yet written, or indeed for any 
thing short of the imagination of a humane heart, to conceive 
all the sufferings and oppressions and injustice done to the 
people, whose territories were the theatres of these struggles, 
whose laboriously acquired property supported the combatants, 
and who themselves were constrained to become combatants 
in battles where even victory brought them no benefits. We 
shall especially dwell upon the direct invasion of the Constitu- 
tions and natural rights of nations, and the most salient cala- 
mities inflicted in these ever renewing wars of selfish ambition. 

Rodolph's first contest was with Ottocar, king of Bohemia, 
his old friend, but who had been a rival for the imperial crown, 
and now refused to accept Rodolph as Emperor. 

Ottocar was then the most powerful prince of Europe. " For 
his dominions extended from the confines of Bavaria to Raab 
in Hungary, and from the Adriatic to the shores of the Baltic." 
He had himself acquired Styria, Austria, Carniola, and Carin* 
thia. He had also the alliance of Henry of Bavaria. 

But Rodolph was not daunted by Ottocar's power. He 
began upon Henry of Bavaria, and forcing him to renounce his 
alliance with Ottocar, attached him to himself by giving his 
daughter Hedwig to Otho, son of Henry, promising a part of 
Upper Austria for her portion. He then conquered Austria, 
while he employed Meinhard of Tyrol to conquer Styria and 
Carinthia, and ended with himself laying siege to Vienna. 
The result of all in the end was nothing less than that Ottocar 
renounced all his claims to Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, 
and Windischmark, and delivered up to the king of Hungary 
all the places he had formerly wrested from him with Rodolph's 
own assistance, doing homage to Rodolph, kneeling, for 
Bohemia and Moravia, of which he obtained from him the 
investiture. 

Immediately after this Rodolph established his own family 
in the Austrian dominions, by persuading the Archbishop of 
Saltzburgh and the bishops of Passau, Freysinger, and Bam- 
berg, to confer on his sons, Albert, Hartman, and Rodolph, 
the ecclesiastical fiefs held by the duke of Austria. 

" In order to reward his retainers," says Coxe, " he was com- 
pelled to lay considerable impositions on his new subjects, and 
to obtain free gifts from the bishops and clergy ; and the dis- 



13 

contents arising from this, probably induced Ottocar to attempt 
the recovery of the territories which he had lost. So desperate 
did Rodolph then find his affairs, and so little had he gained 
of real power, or made his allies and new people feel that 
their interests were identified with his success, that he fre- 
quently exclaimed, says Coxe, " that there was not one in 
whom he could confide, or on whose advice he could depend," 
and, in the words of a contemporary chronicle, " all his family 
ran to confessors, arranged their affairs, forgave their enemies, 
and received the communion." 

In these desperate circumstances he roused himself to con- 
ciliate the city of Vienna by declaring it an imperial city, and 
then, with the assistance of the king of Hungary, at the battle 
of Marchfield, defeated Ottocar, who was taken prisoner and 
killed in cold blood, (not, however, by the hand or with the 
consent of Rodolph). A peace ensued, for Rodolph was 
afraid to retain the Hungarian army in his dominions, and he 
could not fight without it. He obtained Moravia for five years 
by the treaty of peace ; his son-in-law Otho became regent for 
the infant son of Ottocar, while his son Rodolph married the 
Bohemian princess Agnes, and his two daughters were affianced 
to the young king of Bohemia, and to Otho the Less. After 
this, some time was spent in transferring the Austrian territories 
to his family, in which operation he found many difficulties ; 
but at length he succeeded, and with the consent of the States 
of Austria, declared that duchy and Styria an indivisible domain, 
and vested its sole administration in his son Albert. 

But even before the second war with Ottocar was over, we find 
Rodolph in Italy. He had indeed yielder to the conditions 
made by Pope Gregory X. not to interfere with the house of 
Anjou in Naples, or to claim any authority over the papal territo- 
ries ; but in less than two years after Gregory's death, he attempted, 
the revival of the imperial authority in Italy. The decided action 
of Nicholas III. who threatened him with excommunication, in- 
duced him, however, to give up this enterprise ; and to reward 
his compliance, Nicholas induced Charles, King of Naples, to 
resign the vicariate of Tuscany to Rodolph, receiving in ex- 
change the investiture of Provence and Tourcalquier as fiefs of 
the empire, for which acts of homage Rodolph, on the other 
hand, affianced his daughter Clementia to Charles Martel of 
Naples. But, after all, Rodolph could not revive the imperial 



14 

authority in Tuscany, on account of the secret action of Naples, 
and not being sure of success, he with great judgment let the 
matter rest, "and indemnified himself," says Coxe, "by drawing 
considerable sums from Lucca and other cities, for the confirma- 
tion and extension of their privileges ;" thus making them pay 
for retaining their own rights. 

The rest of Rodolph's life was taken up in what Coxe calls 
" establishing the internal tranquillity of the empire," for which 
he is much lauded : for, in doing this, he put down the power 
of many oppressive barons. At one time " he condemned to 
death nine and twenty nobles of the most illustrious families in 
Thuringia, who had broken the public peace ; and he razed in 
one year seventy castles and strongholds, the habitation of ban- 
ditti, or of powerful nobles worse than banditti." He was also 
" zealous to wrest from the princes those fiefs which they had 
appropriated during the troubles of the war." Coxe gives an 
account of these expeditions, and the circumstances of each par- 
ticular case. We extract one paragraph, which seems to indi- 
cate that, in all this action for the " tranquillity of the empire," 
Rodolph was animated by something else than the pure mo- 
tive of saving the people from the exactions of the barons. 

"With the view of extending his influence in Switzerland, 
Rodolph endeavored to gain possession of Berne, which was 
built by the dukes of Zseringen, but was afterwards declared an 
imperial city, and during the interregnum had obtained the 
protection of the house of Savoy. Under the pretext that the 
Bernese had assisted the house of Savoy, and oppressed the 
Jews who were fiscals of the empire, he led, in 1288, an army 
of 30,000 men against the city. But this great man, who had 
humbled the pride of Ottocar, and depressed the powerful 
house of Savoy and Burgundy, was foiled by the firmness and 
spirit of this rising republic ; and after an ineffectual attempt to 
set fire to the town, he relinquished his enterprise. Another 
expedition in the following year under his son Albert, though 
made with the utmost secrecy and address, was equally frus- 
trated ; and his aggrandisement was alone effectually checked 
by a petty republic, on the borders of his own territories." 

The settling of the affairs of Bohemia, which had become in- 
tolerable through the mal-administration of Otho, the regent 
whom Rodolph had appointed, seems to have been for the 
advantage of Bohemia, or at least of its king ; who became his 



15 

tracted at that time (1290) by the contest for the throne of 
Charles Martel with Ladislaus, proposed nothing better for 
Hungary than his conferring the investiture of it, as a fief of 
the empire, upon his son Albert ! This, it is true, resulted in 
nothing, as Albert was too much occupied in settling the dis- 
sensions in his own dominions, to make good his claims (if 
claims they could be called) ; and Andrew III. maintained him- 
self on the throne of his grandfather, to which the Hungarians 
had called him. 

It was in vain that Rodolph, when he saw his end approach- 
ing, assembled the German Diet, to choose his son Albert Em- 
peror. He died on the 15th of July, 1291, with this purpose 
unfulfilled ; having been himself Emperor nineteen years. Coxe 
calls his reign glorious, and closes his memoir of him with a 
description of his person, and anecdotes to illustrate his chivalric 
character. 

It may readily be conceded that Rodolph had the noble 
qualities and manners possible to his position and circumstan- 
ces. But we have given his life to be judged by another stand- 
ard tha'n that usually applied to measure princes ; a standard, 
however, that his own pretensions of serving God and His 
Church* make an equitable one. The House of Hapsburgh 
can show nothing better than the life and actions of Rodolph, 
its founder, on which to ground its pretensions of divine right. 
Does mankind admit the legitimacy of the claim ? Does the 
God of humanity admit it ? 

At the time of the death of Rodolph, Albert, his son, was 
engaged in quelling an insurrection in Austria, which he had 
provoked, says Coxe, " by his stern and unconciliating manners," 
and by arbitrarily conferring the principal offices of state, and 
the richest heiresses in the country, upon his Suabian followers, 
rather than upon the magnates of Austria and Styria. The 
details of the contest it is not worth while to relate. The end 
was, that he besieged Vienna, and reduced the inhabitants by 

* For the theory of the Catholic Church, whatever may be its prac- 
tice, is that all men are born into it. It asserts a right over every 
child who sees the light where it is acknowledged : consequently he who 
bound himself to serve the Church at that time bound himself to serve 
humanity, at least within the precincts over which the Church ex- 
tended its authority. For three hundred years after this time the 
people of Europe was considered to be The Church. 



16 

famine " to propose a surrender, when he accepted ther sub- 
mission." We always quote the words of Coxe : — " He com- 
manded the principal magistrates to repair bareheaded and 
barefooted to his camp with their charters, tore them in pieces 
with his own hands, and abrogated all those privileges which he 
deemed injurious to his authority? He then reduced the 
nobles to obedience by means of the military succour he re- 
ceived from Alsace and Suabia. Immediately afterwards he 
put down an insurrection in Styria, by similar means and 
with similar success. Albert was, however, disappointed of the 
imperial crown. " His splendid talents, powerful connections, 
and affinity to four of the electors, seemed to insure the pos- 
session of it ; but his arrogance and rapacity, his unconciliating 
manners and despotic temper, had alienated some of the elec- 
tors, while his power excited the jealousy and alarmed the ap- 
pr ehension of all." 

On the election of Adolphus of Nassau he was however 
prudent. The disappointment disciplined his pride to his 
advantage, and it was by means of the wisdom with which he 
then acted for his own future interests rather than from his 
present angry passions that he was enabled to take advantage 
of the faults and mistakes of Adolphus, and form a confede- 
racy of the Electors against him, by which that Emperor was 
finally ruined. On the death of Adolphus, Albert was elected. 
In the meanwhile he had subdued the first confederacy formed 
against him by the Helvetian Republics. The details of this 
war is a tissue of violence and cruelty,* which was only inter- 
rupted by the general amnesty proclaimed by Adolphus, and 
which Albert was too prudent to openly defy, surrounded as he 
then was by enemies within and without, who would easily 
have been encouraged to combine against him. 

The history of Albert next details the beginning of an in- 
trigue made against Pope Boniface VIIL, who had not con- 
firmed his election to the Empire. This was an alliance with 
Philip the Handsome, of France, with whom Boniface was 
at variance. On his return from the journey Albert made to 
France, at this time, 1299, to negotiate this alliance, and confirm 
it by affiancing his son Rodolph to Philip's sister Blanche, he 
was induced, by the death of the Count of Holland, to turn 

* The legend of William Tell gives the spirit of the whole. 



17 

aside and lead an army against the Low Countries, to make 
good a claim which he laid to the counties of Holland, Zealand, 
and Friesland, that really belonged to John de Avesdes. But 
the inveterate enmity of the Pope, and the rising discontents of 
the Electors of the Rhine, called him to save his authority in 
the Empire. He therefore, being defeated by John de Avesdes, 
concluded an accommodation, and invested him with the terri- 
tories in dispute. 

The promptness and energy with which he reduced the 
Electors of the Rhine opened the way to a reconciliation with 
the Pope, who had asserted that there was no other sovereign 
or King of the Romans but the sovereign pontiff of Christen- 
dom. It is true Boniface at first not only refused to confirm 
Albert's authority, but inveighed against him as the murderer 
of Adolphus, and released the electors, vassals, and subjects of 
the Empire from their oath of allegiance ; yet finding himself 
foiled in his attempt to shake the authority of the King of 
France, he changed his policy, to detach Albert from Philip, by 
making overtures that Albert was glad to meet. In short 
his Boniface removed, by a sovereign act, all the irregularities of 
election, and declared him a faithful son of the Church ; while 
Albert acknowledged on his side that the right of the electors 
to choose an emperor was derived from the See of Rome ; and 
bound himself, by oath, to defend the supremacy of the Church 
against all the world ; to oppose its enemies, whether kings or 
emperors ; to renounce the alliances which he had contracted 
with powers inimical to the Holy See, and to declare war 
against them at the orders of Boniface or his successors. 
Boniface even excommunicated the King of France, and gave 
his crown to Albert ! We do not know to what lengths the 
Pope would have induced the emperor to go against Philip, to 
make good this gift, but the latter prevented any movement 
by seizing Boniface violently, and treating him so harshly that 
he died. 

Albert was now obliged to turn his attention to matters 
nearer home than the crown of France. There had long been 
causes of misunderstanding with Wenceslaus, King of Bohe- 
mia, who in 1300 was elected King of Poland, where he had 
previous claims on the duchies of Cracow and Sandomir by the 
gift of Griffina, widow of the late duke Lesko. As his first 
wife, Albert's sister, was dead, he married the daughter of Pre- 



18 

mislaus II. of Poland, who had died in 1296. Hardly had he 
obtained this new throne than his son Wenceslaus was chosen 
King of Hungary, over Charobert, who had been invested with 
that kingdom by Pope Boniface VIII. as a fief of the Roman 
see; an interference strongly resented by the Hungarians. 
Boniface had thundered a bull of excommunication against the 
Hungarians on this occasion ; but it being despised, and his le- 
gate expelled, he called on Albert to support Charobert's cause, 
who was also his own nephew. Albert eagerly listened to these 
overtures, and laid Wenceslaus under the ban of the empire, sec- 
onding the act by arms. The death of Wenceslaus II. and the 
accession of his inexperienced and feeble son, enabled Albert to 
arrange this affair in his own way ; and in a few years, the 
death of Wenceslaus III. without issue, awakened in him new 
aspirations for power, and he prepared to transfer the crown of 
Bohemia into his own family. 

" Like many other kingdoms of Europe, at that period, Bohe- 
mia was considered as an elective monarchy, though the crown 
was always continued in the same line, and the eldest son was 
chosen or confirmed during the lifetime of the father. Wen- 
ceslaus being the last male of the ancient dynasty, the throne 
was open to different pretenders. Henry of Carinthia became 
a candidate in virtue of his marriage with Anne, eldest sister of 
the deceased monarch ; but Albert claimed the disposal of the 
crown, both as a fief of the empire, and in virtue of the compact 
between Rodolph and Wenceslaus II., which entailed Bohemia 
on the Austrian family, in default of issue male. He accordingly 
proposed his eldest son Rodolph, who strengthened his claims 
by promising to expouse Elizabeth*, widow of Wenceslaus II., 
and was supported by a powerful party of the nobles. 

" The States assembled at Prague, and the votes were divided 
between Henry of Carinthia, and Rodolph of Austria. The 
sisters of the late king came barefooted into the assembly, and 
supplicated with tears for Henry of Carinthia; but their en- 
treaties were disregarded, and Rodolph was chosen on the 1st 
of April, 1306. Accompanied by his father, and at the head 
of a considerable force, he entered Prague in triumph, and full- 
filled his promise of marrying the widowed queen. At the same 
time Albert obtained the formal renewal of the compact, which 
seemed to insure the succession of his own family. 

* Blanch, the first, wife of Rodolph, died in April, 1305. 



19 

"A mild and moderate system of conduct would have concili- 
ated the natives, and fulfilled the accomplishment of his wishes, 
but such a conduct was not consonant to the character of Al- 
bert. By his influence Rodolph, though naturally mild and 
amiable, imposed heavy taxes on his subjects, disregarded their 
prejudices and customs, stripped the churches of their costly 
ornaments, and prosecuted the bishop of Prague, who remon- 
strated against this sacrilege. A large party of nobles broke 
into open revolt, the spirit of discontent spread with rapidity, 
and the whole nation seemed eager to take up arms against the 
Austrian despotism. To quell these commotions, Rodolph col- 
lected an army ; but while he was besieging the fortress of Horaz- 
dovitz, he was hurried to the grave by a dysentery, in July, 
1307, at the age of twenty-two, and before he had completed 
the first year of a precarious and disputed sovereignty. 

" On this event, Frederic, the second son of Albert, was pro- 
posed to the states, who met in the episcopal palace of Prague. 
When Tobias of Bechnia, a nobleman of high rank, named Fre- 
deric of Austria, the assembly exclaimed, " We will have no 
Austrian king ! " Bechnia tauntingly observing, " You will per- 
haps again choose a peasant from the village of Staditz, and 
marry him to the widowed queen," a tumult arose ; the most 
violent drew their sabres ; Bechnia, with two others of the Au- 
strian party were massacred, and Henry of Carinthia raised to 
the throne by unanimous acclamation. 

" The haughty spirit of Albert, affected with the loss of Bohe- 
mia, was still more deeply wounded by the contemptuous re- 
jection of his son. He accordingly asserted his claims in arms, 
and accompanied by Frederic, whom he declared King of Bo- 
hemia, led a powerful body of troops from Germany into the 
kingdom, and laid siege to Kuttenberg and Colin. But the 
approach of winter, the desultory attacks of the Bohemian forces, 
the obstinate resistance of the garrisons, and the severity of the 
season, at length compelled him to retire. He did not, however 
relinquish his object, but placing garrisons in Konigsgratz, and 
other fortified towns, which had been yielded to him by Eliza- 
beth, drew his troops into Austria, and determined to return in 
spring with a still more powerful army. 

"Albert had availed himself of the short interval during which 
his son held quiet possession of Bohemia, to support the pre- 
tensions of his nephew Charles of Naples, in opposition to Otho 



20 

of Bavaria, who was lineally descended from Bela IV., and had 
been raised to the throne of Hungary by the anti-papal party 
in 1306. He entered Hungary with a considerable army, but 
did little more than devastate the country, till he was called to 
defend his own territories against an irruption of the Hun- 
garians. 

" He likewise engaged in a war for the possession of Misnia 
and Thuringia, which he endeavoured to appropriate as fiefs of 
the empire. 

" But at this juncture the insurrection of the Swiss called his 
attention to another quarter. 

" Helvetia, or, as it is now called, Switzerland, at this period 
was divided into small sovereignties and baronial fiefs, the im- 
perial cities of Zurich, Berne, Basle, and Schaffhausen, the de- 
mesnes of the church, and the small states or cantons of 
Schywz, Uri, and Underwalden, which, though dependent on i 
the empire, enjoyed a democratic form of government. Among 
the sovereigns, the most conspicuous were the counts of Savoy, 
and the house of Hapsburgh, which had considerably increased 
in power and territory by the elevation of Rodolph and Albert, 
who, as chiefs of the empire, possessed the right of appointing 
bailiffs in the imperial cities and districts, for the purpose of ad- 
ministering the criminal jurisdiction. 

"At the suggestion of Albert, Rodolph seems to have formed 
the design of acquiring the sovereignty of the ecclesiastical and 
baronial territories, and having thus encompassed the free cities 
and democratic states, either to obtain their voluntary submis- 
sion, or compel the refractory to acknowledge his authority. 
In consequence of this design, Rodolph made considerable 
purchases, particularly of Friburgh from the house of Kyburg, 
and of the town of Lucern from the abbey of Murbach, with the 
seignorial rights in several villages of the district of Schywz. 
These acquisitions excited jealousies and discontent among the 
natives of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, and gave birth to 
an association by which they bound themselves not to submit 
to foreign jurisdiction. The temperate spirit of Rodolph yield- 
ed to the opposition of a people so jealous of their liberties, and 
from whom he had received such essential services ; he accord- 
ingly quieted their apprehensions by a solemn confirmation of 
their privileges, as head of the empire, and this act was con- 
firmed by Adolphus. 



21 

Soon after the death of Rodolph, Albert manifested his in- 
tention of appropriating or subjugating the free districts of Hel- 
vetia. The natives of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, justly 
apprehensive of his rapacious character and powerful resources, 
held a general assembly to renew their confederacy, and assert 
their independence. They also espoused the cause of Adol- 
phus, and assisted him with a small but chosen body of their 
bravest troops. On the death of Adolphus, and the election of 
Albert, a general panic spread through all the people of the 
Alps ; and their alarms were increased by the declaration of 
Albert to their deputies, who requested him, as chief of the 
empire, to confirm their privileges, that he intended to propose 
an alteration in their government. 

" Before, however, he attempted to subjugate these brave and 
spirited people, he increased his influence and acquisitions in 
Switzerland. He pacified the citizens of Zurich by confirming 
their privileges, obtained the advocacies of the abbeys of St. 
Gallen and Einsidlin, demolished the castles of the petty lords 
in the district of Glarus, who had adhered to Adolphus, and by 
purchase and intrigue, acquired the supreme authority in vari- 
ous parts, from the lake of Thun, to the heart of the country 
inhabited by the Grisons. Having thus nearly surrounded the 
Swiss by his extensive domains, he summoned them to submit 
to his authority. His haughty spirit was little affected by the 
simple answer of these free mountaineers : " We are partial to 
the condition of our forefathers, and only desire the confirma- 
tion of our privileges." He disdained to listen to their remon- 
strances, and placed over them governors, whose tyrannical and 
capricious administration at length roused the natives to assert 
their injured rights. 

" Under the auspices of three patriots, Fiirst, Melchthal, and 
Stauffacher, the plan of a general insurrection was secretly form- 
ed, and the revolution, which gave liberty to Switzerland burst 
forth in Uri, Schweitz, and Underwalden, on the 13th of Jan- 
uary, 1308. The governors were expelled, their castles seized, 
and the whole people rose, as with one accord, to defy the pow- 
er of the house of Austria, and of the head of the empire. 

'Albert, confident of his superior force, rejoiced at this insur- 
rection as affording a pretext for subjugating the natives of a 
territory which he had long coveted, postponed the intended 
invasion of Bohemia and Thuringia, and was preparing to lead 



22 

an army into Switzerland, when his life and reign were closed 
by the hand of violence." 

The Austrian princes, Frederic and Leopold, were unques- 
tionably disappointed at the election of Henry of Luxembourg 
to the imperial throne, instead of one of themselves ; but, after 
some intrigues, they concluded to accept quietly from him the 
investiture of their hereditary dominions, and Leopold faithfully 
served the Emperor in Italy and elsewhere. At his death there 
was a contested election, and both Frederic of Austria and 
Louis of Bavaria were chosen. In the wars that ensued be- 
tween these rivals, Switzerland was again invaded by Leopold, 
who commenced hostilities against the three Swiss cantons, , 
who had espoused the Bavarian party. 

" Leopold seized the pretext of a dispute between the convent 
of Einsidlin, of which he was advocate, and the natives of 
Schwyz, who had surrounded the abbey, and seized four of 
the canons and the schoolmaster, in revenge for an insult on 
some Swiss pilgrims. He considered the reduction of this 
country as an easy task, and vain of his military skill and supe- 
rior force, boasted that he would trample the audacious rustics 
under his feet. He assembled 20,000 men, and hastened to • 
put his threat in execution ; 4,000 on the side of Oberhasli 
were to pass by Mount Brunig into Underwalden ; a body of 
1000 from Lucern was to make a diversion byStantz, and he 
himself intended to march from Zug with 15,000, and penetrate 
to Schwyz. 

"The northern inlets of the country being fortified with strong 
entrenchments and towers, only two passages led towards 
Schwyz. The first was the pass of Art, along the foot of the 
crags which border the lake of Zug, impracticable for armed 
cavalry ; the other led through the straits of Morgarten, about 
three miles in length, between the lake Egeri and the heights 
rising above the village of Morgarten, from which it derives its 
name. 

" The Swiss, hardy and brave from their modes of life and 
forms of government, disdained to submit to a foreign power, 
and beheld the gathering of the storm without dismay, though 
with the interest due to the importance of the cause in which 
they were engaged. Fourteen hundred men, the flower of 
their youth, grasped their arms and assembled at the town of 
Schwyz. A solemn fast being proclaimed, they passed the day 



23 

in religious exercises and chanting hymns and kneeling down 
in the open air, petitioned " the God of heaven and earth to lis- 
ten to their lowly prayers, and humble the pride and arrogance 
}f their enemies." By the advice of an experienced veteran 
:hey took post on the heights of Morgarten, and with the same 
pint which had animated the Greeks at the strait of Thermo- 
pylae, waited the opproach of the enemy. Fifty outlaws also, 
who had been expelled from Schwyz, petitioned the magis- 
trates that they might share the danger of the day with their 
lountrymen ; and, though rejected, occupied an eminence com- 
manding the entrance of the pass. 

"At the dawn of the morning (November 16.) the Austrian* 
were seen advancing in all the pomp of war, and flushed with 
the hope of certain conquest. The cavalry, on whom the war- 
riors of that day placed their principal reliance, armed from 
head to foot, led the way, and were followed by the infantry in 
a compact body. When they began to fill the strait, and 
stretch along the borders of the lake, the fifty exiles raised a 
iudden shout, and hurled among them huge blocks of timber, 
heaps of stones, and fragments of rock. This unexpected assault 
threw the column into confusion ; and the confederates perceiv- 
ing the impression, rushed down from the heights, and charged 
the enemy in close array with their clubs, halberts, and pikes. 
Cramped by the narrowness of the defile, the Austrians were 
unable to make any evolution, and their embarrassment was 
increased by the effects of a hoar frost. Many of the horse 
leaped into the lake, and the remainder recoiled on their in- 
fantry, who, unaware of the attack, and unable to open their 
files, were run over, dispersed, or trampled to death ; numbers 
were driven into the lake, crushed by their companions, or fell 
by the hands of an enraged enemy. Not less than fifteen hun- 
dred, most of whom were nobles or knights, were slain in the 
rout, and Leopold himself with difficulty escaped under the 
guidance of a peasant to Winterthur, where he arrived in the 
evening, gloomy, exhausted, and dismayed. 

" At the close of evening the Unterwalders, apprised of the 
advance of the body from Lucern, embarked with a hundred 
Swiss on the lake, and landing at Buchs, attacked and dispersed 
the enemy. Notwithstanding the exertions of this arduous day, 
the victorious troops, joined by a few of their countrymen, hast- 
ened to Alpnach, where the four thousand had taken a strong 



24 

position. The Austrians, beholding the victorious banners of 
the Swiss, and hearing the shouts of exultation, were panic 
struck, and began to retreat ; but were attacked by the confed- 
erates, and, notwithstanding the exertions of their commander, 
driven back in disorder over the mountains towards Lucern. 

" The three cantons in a public assembly declared the anni- 
versary of this day, ' in which the God of Hosts had visited his 
people, and given them the victory over their enemies,' a so- 
lemn festival, and ordered the names and heroic deeds of those 
champions, who had fallen in defence of their country, to be 
annually recited to the people. They also rendered perpetual 
their ancient league, which had hitherto been renewed every » 
tenth year, and obtained a confirmation of their confederacy) 
from the head of the empire." 

We omit the rest of the history of these two brothers, on ac- 
count of their too great complication with the interests of otheri 
princes, including the Pope, who pursued their objects with the. 
same recklessness of the welfare of the countries which were the 
theatre of the disputes, that is the ever continued course of the 
House of Austria, and with no shadow of a better purpose than' 
family aggrandisement, ever manifested by every one of them, 
whether in peace or war. 

They both died before 1330, leaving their younger brothers, 
Albert II. and Otho, heads of the family, who immediately con 
eluded peace with the Emperor Louis. Hardly was this effected! 
before we find the brothers engaged in war for the succession) 
of Carinthia and the Tyrol. Being invested with both by Louis, 
they took forcible possession of Carinthia, but were obliged to 
renounce the Tyrol, so effectually were they opposed by its- 
nobles and magistrates. 

" While Albert was thus on the whole extending his posses- 
sions, and consolidating his power on the side of Austria his 
paternal domains and influence in Switzerland were curtailed 
by the three petty republics of the Alps, who had already re- 
sisted the efforts and humbled the pride of his house. 

"At the commencement of their administration, Albert, in 
conjunction with his brother Otho, had made considerable ac- 
quisitions in the neighborhood of the Rhine ; they had obtained 
possession of Schaff hausen, Rheinfelden, and Brisach ; and had 
purchased from the House of Lauffenburgh the feudal rights 
over the town and country of Rapperschwyl. By these ac- 



25 

quisitions, and by the extent of their paternal inheritance, the 
Austrian princes almost surrounded and isolated the three re- 
publics : they possessed nearly the whole of that part of the 
canton of Berne which is now called the Argau ; they were mas- 
ters of the Thurgau ; they held the sovereignty of Zug and Lu- 
cern, including the Entlibuch, and the towns of Sempach and 
Reichensee ; and, as advocates of the abbeys of Einsidlin 
and Seckingen, their authority was paramount in the district to 
the south of the lake of Zurich, and over the town and canton 
of Glarus. 

" By the death of Otho, and of his two sons, who deceased 
in 1344, the whole possessions and power of the House of Aus- 
tria devolved on Albert. But he was at first too much embar- 
rassed in contests on the side of Austria and the empire to give 
the necessary attention to the affairs of Helvetia, where a con- 
currence of events had begun to diminish the authority of his 
family. 

" Since the the battle of Morgarten, the power and influence 
of the Swiss had increased with their success ; and the spirit of 
that liberty which they had so courageously defended was dif- 
fused over the neighboring Alps, and among the towns and 
districts on the borders of Germany. The surrounding people 
were eager to obtain an exemption from feudal despotism ; and 
panted for an equal participation of those rights which had 
raised the three democratic cantons to such reputation and pros- 
perity. Lucern set the first example. In consequence of the 
unceasing disputes and contests between the Austrian feudato- 
ries and the confederated republics, Lucern was exposed to per- 
petual inroads ; her commerce to Italy was interrupted, her fairs 
deserted, and her citizens, continually under arms, were unable 
to protect their territories from depreciations, or their walls from 
insult. In these depressing circumstances the flower of her 
youth was summoned to the field under the Austrian standard, 
her citizens loaded with excessive contributions, and, the au- 
thority of the Austrian princes being supported by the nobles, 
the town was agitated with discordant factions. At length the 
majority of the burghers obtained from the emperor Louis the 
protection of the empire, and with his approbation concluded an 
armistice of twenty years with the Swiss cantons. The nobles 
applied to the baron of Ramschlag, the Austrian castellan of 
Rotenburgh, who advanced with a body of 300 horse to surprise 
2 



26 

the town; but this project being defeated by the vigilance and 
firmness of the burghers, many of the Austrian partisans retired, 
and the remaining inhabitants entered into an alliance with the 
Swiss cantons. In forming this alliance, however, both parties 
observed the most rigid dictates of justice, and confirmed all the 
rights and prerogatives of the House of Austria. Albert and 
Otho, failing in their attempts to recover Lucern by intrigue or 
arms, took advantage of their reconciliation with Louis, and 
solicited him to dissolve the alliance of Lucern with the Swiss 
cantons. The cause was accordingly submitted to arbitrators, 
selected from Zurich, Berne, and Basle : but the confederacy 
was confirmed, and a truce for thirty months concluded between 
the dukes of Austria and Lucern, which was renewed at differ- 
ent intervals. 

" The four cantons, which, from this period, are called the four 
Forest Cantons, took an active share in the subsequent transac- 
tions, and, after vindicating their own independence, assisted in 
extending and maintaining the liberty of the neighboring towns 
and districts, who sought their alliance and protection. 

" Zurich next became a member of the Helvetic confederacy. 
The House of Austria had more than once endeavoured in vain 
to annex Zurich to their other territories; and in the peace 
of Hagenau, it was one of the four imperial towns mortgaged 
by the emperor to Albert and Otho. But the inhabitants claim- 
ing the privilege granted to them by Adolphus, of never being 
separated from the empire, Louis yielded to their remonstrances, 
and instead of Zurich ceded Brisach, a town of the Brisgau. 
The Austrian princes, however, did not relinquish their purpose, 
and gained a considerable party of the nobles, who had gra- 
dually acquired the principal share in the administration of af- 
fairs. But their views were thwarted by a revolution which 
annihilated the influence of the nobles, and established a po- 
pular form of government; and Rodolph Brun, by whose in- 
fluence and intrigues this revolution was effected, under the 
title of perpetual burgomaster, secured the chief authority. The 
nobles who opposed the change were driven into exile, their 
estates confiscated, and the severest measures were adopted to 
prevent the restoration of the ancient government. The tyran- 
nical proceedings of Brun having excited great discontents, the 
exiles united with John of Hapsburgh, lord of Rapperschwyl, 
who had afforded them an asylum, to recover their lost ascen- 



27 

dancy. In 1351 they succeeded in introducing a considerable 
body of men into the town ; but at midnight, when the explo- 
sion was about to take place, the plot was accidentally discover- 
ed. The conspirators were put to death, or dispersed; and 
John of Hapsburgh, with Ulrich of Bonstetten, the two leaders, 
made prisoners. Many of their adherents among the burghers 
were afterwards executed ; and the authority of Brun was more 
firmly established than ever. He led a party against Rapper- 
schwyl, made himself master of the town, expelled the inhabi- 
tants, levelled every house to the ground, and demolished the 
walls of the castle ; but, aware that these proceedings would 
expose him to the vengeance of Albert, he saw no other 
resource than the protection of the Swiss cantons, and succeed- 
ed in procuring the admission of Zurich into the Helvetic con- 
federacy, which took place on the Vth of May, 1351. 

"Albert, at length relieved from his embarassments in Ger- 
many, hastened to recover his declining authority. He assem- 
bled at Bruck all his governors, barons, and magistrates, from 
the Thurgau, Argau, Alsace, the Black Forest, and Suabia, and 
roused their indignation by expatiating on the flagitious conduct 
of Zurich. He then summoned the deputies of Zurich, who 
came to congratulate him on his arrival, into his presence, and, 
after rebuking them with severity, dismissed them with an order 
that the towns of old and new Rapperschwyl should be rebuilt, 
the marshes restored, and his people indemnified for their losses. 
On the refusal of the burghers to comply with these conditions, 
he invested the town with 16,000 men. 

"On the first appearance of danger, the people of Zurich 
applied to the Forest Cantons, and a body of Swiss prepared to 
march, without delay, to the assistance of their new ally. The 
burghers, however, panic-struck with the force and menaces of 
the Austrians, requested an arbitration to arrange the dispute, 
and yielded sixteen hostages as pledges for the fulfilment of the 
award. The arbitrators chose Agnes, queen of Bohemia, the 
sister of Albert, as final umpire, who decided in favour of her 
brother. A treaty was accordingly concluded ; but a dispute 
arising in regard to the release of John of Hapsburgh, and the 
Swiss disapproving the conditions, both parties had again re- 
course to arms. 

"Among his allies, Albert summoned the people of Glarus to 
his standard ; but these husbandmen, who were animated with 



28 

the same spirit as their Alpine neighbours, refused to obey the 
summons ; and when he despatched a body of troops, as well 
to awe them into compliance as to annoy the Forest Cantons, 
the Swiss, bursting in the depth of winter into the valley, were 
joyfully received by the inhabitants, and expelled the governor. 
The people, grateful for this deliverance, entered into a treaty 
of alliance with the Forest Cantons, and 200 of their bravest 
youth marched to the defence of Zurich. At the commence- 
ment of the ensuing year they repulsed and defeated with great 
slaughter an Austrian force in the field of Rutly, and soon after 
this event Glarus was formally admitted into the Helvetic con- 
federacy. In a similar manner the Swiss expelled the Austrians 
from Zug, and the natives of that town and district were receiv- 
ed into the confederacy ; the two cantons however did not yet 
throw off their feudal subjection to the house of Austria, but 
reserved, in their full latitude, all the rights and revenues of the 
duke. 

" During these transactions, four thousand Austrians troops 
had been defeated by fifteen hundred burghers of Zurich, at 
Tatwyl, and a corps of a thousand by forty-two Swiss at Kuss- 
nacht. Albert, unwilling to continue this predatory warfare, in 
which all the advantage lay on the side of the active and light- 
armed peasants of the Alps, and which dispirited his own troops 
while it increased the courage and skill of the enemy, collected 
from all quarters an army sufficient, as he imagined, to humble 
the confederates by a single effort. He drew out the whole 
force of his own hereditary dominions, and persuaded the no- 
bles of Burgundy, Suabia, and Helvetia that their interests 
were equally concerned in punishing refractory subjects, and 
checking the progress of the Helvetic union ; he likewise suc- 
ceeded in obtaining the support of the elector of Brandenburgh, 
and many other princes of the empire ; and was assisted even 
by the republic of Berne, and its allies of Oberland, Hasli, and 
the Pays de Vaud. Having in 1352 assembled 30,000 foot, 
and 4000 horse he intrusted the command to an experienced 
warrior, Everhard, count of Wirtemberg, who laid siege to Zu- 
rich. Albert himself was indefatigable in forwarding the siege, 
and either on a litter, or on horseback, assiduously visited and 
encouraged the different posts ; but the invincible spirit of the 
burghers, assisted by a corps of the confederates, baffled all his 
efforts. In consequence of an alarming scarcity of provisions, 



29 

his auxiliaries successively retired, and Albert at length gladly 
accepted an accommodation, which was concluded by the inter- 
vention of the elector of Brandenburgh, with the plenipoten- 
tiaries of the confederates assembled at Lucern. All prisoners, 
conquests, and hostages were to be restored on both sides ; the 
prerogatives and revenues of the duke in Lucern, Schwyz, and 
Underwalden were to be preserved ; Zug and Glarus agreed to 
render him due allegiance ; and the duke in return promised to 
be their friend. The confederates were to conclude no alliance 
with an Austrian town or country ; Zurich and Lucern were to 
admit no Austrian subject into their burghership : John of 
Hapsburgh was to be released ; and all former alliances, im- 
munities, and established regulations to remain inviolate. 

" The signal proofs of spirit, valor, and perseverance, displayed 
by the confederates in this arduous and apparently unequal con- 
test, increased their former reputation ; and before the close of 
1352, their union was strengthened by the accession of Berne, 
the most powerful republic in Helvetia, which, by purchase or 
arms, had enlarged her frontiers, and acquired a considerable 
domain ; but was still more formidable from the military skill 
and prowess of her warlike citizens. 

" The treaty which Albert, from his necessities rather than 
from inclination, had concluded with the confederate cantons, 
was a suspension of arms instead of a solid peace ; for disputes 
soon arose relative to the interpretation of the articles. Albert 
insisted that the engagements of Glarus and Zug to pay him 
due allegiance dissolved their alliance with the Swiss cantons ; 
and the Swiss urged that the article in which the maintenance 
of all former alliances was stipulated comprehended the Helvetic 
union. Albert had recourse to the mediation of the emperor, 
who was anxious to compose the troubles of the empire, that he 
might receive the crown from the hands of the Pope at Rome. 
Charles repaired to Zurich, and endeavoured to effect an accom- 
modation ; but as he displayed an evident partiality in favour 
of Albert, the Swiss cantons declared their resolution to reject 
any award before their confederacy was acknowledged ; and at 
the same time they tendered a compensation for the ducal pre- 
rogatives, which was to be fixed by the emperor. Charles, irri- 
tated by this mark of disrespect, declared the Helvetic union 
null and void, and all confederacies illegal, which were formed 
without the consent of the head of the empire. 



30 

" In consequence of the unshaken resolution displayed by the 
Swiss, an Austrian force passed the Glatt, and fortified Rapper- 
schwyl, which Albert had purchased from the house of Lauffen- 
burgh ; and from that central post annoyed both the Swiss and 
the town of Zurich. Soon afterwards Charles himself summoned 
the contingents of the empire, and, accompanied by all his 
princes, spiritual and temporal, joined the army of Albert, which 
was encamped before Zurich. But the hopes of Albert were 
again frustrated ; the garrison, though amounting to only four 
thousand men, were all animated by the same undaunted spirit ; 
while the heterogeneous and unwieldy mass of the besieging 
army was agitated with disputes and jealousies. The imperial 
cities were unwilling to assist in reducing another city of the 
empire ; the princes and states were jealous of the increasing 
power of Austria, and averse to enforce the maxims promulgat- 
ed by Charles, that all confederacies were illegal which were 
concluded without the consent of their chief ; Charles himself 
also was disinclined to support so unpopular a cause, and to 
waste his time in aggrandising a family, of which he dreaded 
the ascendancy. A frivolous dispute about precedence in the 
assault afforded a pretext for retiring ; the besiegers struck their 
tents, and withdrew in such haste and disorder that, according 
to the expressions of an ancient chronicle, none knew who went 
first, or who last, and Albert was left to prosecute the war with 
his own forces. 

"Albert, thus deserted, changed his plan of operations, de- 
vastated the country in the neighbourhood of Zurich, and let 
loose a lawless band of Hungarian auxiliaries, who, like the 
Croats and Pandours of modern times, committed the most 
horrible excesses, and spared neither friend nor foe. At length 
his own subjects, and the neighbouring barons, harassed and 
exhausted with perpetual dejDredations, unanimously clamoured 
for peace, and testified a resolution to terminate hostilities, even 
without his consent. Albert was reduced to make overtures 
of accommodation, and admitted, at the diet of Ratisbon, that 
the reservation of the Swiss league should be a preliminary of 
the future award, which was left to the decision of the empe- 
ror. He endeavoured, however, to gain by artifice what he 
could not effect by force. At his instigation the emperor drew 
up articles of accommodation, containing an ambiguous clause, 
which virtually annulled the alliance, and would have ultimately 



31 

again subjected Zug and Glarus to the domination of the house 
of Austria. With this view the Austrian commissaries, instead 
of presenting the instrument to a general assembly of the con- 
federates, endeavoured to divide them, and to extort their se- 
parate concurrence. Brim, bribed by Albert, exerted his power- 
ful influence ; and Zurich, which had been the principal cause 
of the war, not only ratified the imperial award, but entered 
into a defensive alliance with Austria, to enforce the execution 
even against the confederates. 

" The people of Schwyz, however, refused to ratify the ob- 
noxious clause, and resisted with firmness and indignation the 
urgent representations of Albert, and the mandates of the em- 
peror. Nor did their firmness forsake them on the arrival of 
an Austrian commissary to demand the homage of Zug and 
Glarus, although Zurich remained neuter, and even Lucern, Uri, 
and Underwalden seemed inclined to shrink from the contest. 
A body of troops marched from Schwyz under the banner of 
their forefathers, which had triumphed at Morgarten, entered 
the two cantons, drove out the Austrian commissary, and re- 
newed the reciprocal engagements of perpetual amity and mu- 
tual defence. 

"At length Albert, worn out with age, afflicted by the in- 
crease of his paralytic disorder, which was aggravated by 
arthritic complaints, and the disappointment of his hopes, re- 
turned in disgust to Vienna, where he fell into such a state of 
despondency, that the very name of a Swiss was never men- 
tioned in his presence. His son Rodolph, who was intrusted 
with the administration of the Suabian territories, agreed to an 
armistice of eleven years, which was mediated by the baron of 
Thorberg, the Austrian commissary in Helvetia, and thus ter- 
minated a ruinous and fruitless contest. 

" This event was soon followed by the decease of Albert, who 
died on the 16th of August, 1358, after a reign of twenty-eight 
years." 

The successor of Albert IL was his son Rodolph IV., who had 
a fancy for antiquities ; a fancy made important by his under- 
taking to assume all the titles which had ever pertained to his 
family, among the rest that of the Archduke Palatine ; but the 
most important acquisition that marked his own reign was 
that of the Tyrol, ceded by Margaret Maultasch, whom he had 
laid under obligation to himself, by procuring from the Pope 



32 

the legitimation of her son Meinhard. He also obtained vari- 
ous advantages in a contest with the patriarch of Aquilea ; but, in 
the midst of his attempts to aggrandise his family, he died un- 
timely, aged 26, in 1365. 

As his brother Frederic had died immediately before this 
time, the administration of the family interests fell upon a 
younger brother, Albert III., who was only seventeen years of 
age. He also had a brother Leopold, two years younger than 
himself, and it was his ambition that divided the hitherto uni- 
ted territories of the family. With the sanction of the Empe- 
ror, Leopold II. took possession of all the provinces except Aus- 
tria, and he then proceeded to add to his possessions from the 
world without. He succeeded in getting Trieste by taking part 
with Francis of Carrara against the Venetians, but he was dis- 
appointed of his hopes of procuring the crown of Poland for his 
son William, and he sunk into a depression of spirits which in- 
capacitated him for bodily or mental exertion. " He neglected 
the administration of affairs, and his bailiffs and feudal chiefs, 
who were freed from his control, were guilty of great tyranny 
and excessive exactions. Symptoms of discontent soon broke 
out in Suabia, of which Leopold was imperial bailiff ; above forty 
of the towns renewed the confederacy which they had formerly 
established against the oppressions of the princes and nobles, 
and were joined by Strasburgh, Mentz, and the principal cities 
on the Rhine. To strengthen their league, and to secure allies 
in the heart of the Austrian possessions, they sought the acces- 
sion of the Helvetic confederates, whom they considered as the 
enemies of the House of Austria, from prejudice, interest, and 
situation. 

" Many causes of misunderstanding had contributed to aggra- 
vate the natural jealousy between the House of Austria and the 
Helvetic states. Leopold had evinced an inclination to recover 
the authority of his ancestors, and had recently shackled the 
commerce of the Forest Cantons and Zurich, by the imposition 
of additional tolls at Rapperschwyl and Rotemberg ; he had 
likewise taken part in a contest between Berne and a collateral 
branch of the family of Hapsburgh. The interference of Leo- 
pold in this instance disgusted the confederates, and Berne, Zu- 
rich, and Zug, with the town of Soleure, joined the union of the 
Suabian cities, and warmly solicited the accession of the other 
cantons. 



S3 

"Alarmed with this formidable league, Leopold roused him- 
self from his lethargy, and repaired to Zurich, pacified the peo- 
ple of Schwyz, by abolishing the tolls imposed at Rapper- 
schwyl, and by their means gained the three other Forest Can- 
tons ; he also conciliated the burghers of Zurich, and detached 
them from the confederacy. He then appeased the discontents 
in Suabia, by repressing the exactions of the bailiffs, and by 
threats and promises dissolved the league of the cities on the 
Rhine. During these events he had smoothed and amused the 
Swiss by offers of perpetual peace, and splendid promises, but hav- 
ing pacified the imperial cities, he became less compliant, and 
his governors and bailiffs renewed their oppressions. The invete- 
rate aversion which the Swiss people had fostered against the 
Austrian family again revived, and a trifling dispute soon occa- 
sioned an open rupture. Leopold had pledged the castle and 
town of Wolhausen, with the Entlibuch, to Peter of Thorberg, 
and Rotemberg to Herman of Graunberg. These lords oppress- 
ing the inhabitants, the latter, instead of appealing to the duke 
their sovereign, sent their deputies to seek the protection of 
Lucern, and were admitted into the coburghership. The citizens 
of Lucern, also, who were aggrieved by imposition of heavy tolls 
at Rotemberg, seized this opportunity to attack and raze the 
castle and the walls of the town ; and, instead of giving satis- 
faction for the outrage, admitted into their burghership the Ent- 
libuch, with the Austrian towns of Sempach and Richensee. 

"Leopold, irritated by the defection of his subjects and the 
loss of his territories, was still further exasperated by the clam- 
ors of the neighboring princes and nobles, who, being alarmed 
lest their vassals should follow the example of those of Austria, 
offered to assist in crushing so dangerous a confederacy. Both 
parties prepared for hostilities ; and although Berne declined 
engaging in the contest, and the Suabian cities refused their as- 
sistance, Zurich, Zug, and the three Forest Cantons, armed in 
defence of Lucern. A desultory but sanguinary warfare took 
place ; the confederates anticipated their enemies by razing the 
castles of Wolhausen, Meyenburgh, and Caffenberg, and placed 
garrisons in Sempach and Richensee ; and, on the other side, 
the Austrians having recovered Richensee, sated their vengeance 
by demolishing the town, and putting the inhabitants to the 
sword, without distinction of sex or age. 
2* 



34 

" The crisis now rapidly approached, and twenty successive 
messengers arrived in one day, with the declarations of war 
from different lords against the confederates. Leopold soon 
collected a considerable army at Baden, and detached John de 
Bonstetten with a corps to Bruck, as if he meditated an attack 
on Zurich ; but his views were in reality directed to penetrate 
by Sempach and Rotemberg, and make himself master of Lu- 
cern. The Forest Cantons, deceived by his dispositions, at first 
despatched 1,400 men for the defence of Zurich; but, being ap- 
prised of his plan, they prevailed on the burghers to undertake 
their own defence ; and the greater part of the auxiliaries cross- 
ing the Reuss, directed their march towards Sempach. In their 
progress they were joined by bodies from Glarus, the Entlibuch, 
and the villages through which they passed, and on the 9th of 
July, 1396, arriving at Sempach, took post in the woods which 
skirt the lake and crown the neighboring eminences, with a force 
of only 1,300 men. 

" On the evening of the preceding day, Leopold had occupied 
Sursee, and early in the morning advanced with a corps of 4000 
horse and 1,400 foot, with the hope of surprising Sempach. 
Confident of success, his troops rode up to the walls, and insult- 
ed the citizens with taunts and threats. One held up a halter, 
exclaiming, ' This is for your Avoyer !' and others, alluding to 
the stragglers who were lying waste the fields, cried, ' Send a 
breakfast to the reapers.' The burgomaster, pointing to the 
woods, replied, ' My masters of Lucern, and their allies, will 
bring it.' 

" The duke, surprised at the appearance of the confederates, 
instantly held a council of war, to decide whether the attack 
should be postponed till the arrival of the other forces. But 
the nobles unanimously exclaimed, 'God has delivered these 
peasants into our hands ; it would be shameful, armed as we 
are, to wait for succors against an ill-armed and almost naked 
rabble.' The baron de Hasenberg, an experienced veteran, 
who had often witnessed the prowess of the Swiss, in vain re- 
presented the folly of despising the enemy, expatiated on the 
uncertainty of the fortune of war, and urged the duke to wait 
the arrival of Bonstetten. But his prudence only drew from the 
younger knights the censure of cowardice : one of them, calling 
him a hare in heart, as in name, turned to the duke, and exult- 
ingly said, ' This very noon we will deliver up to you this hand- 



35 

ful of rustics.' His petulency was received with applause, and 
preparations were made for an immediate attack. 

"As the horses were fatigued by the march, and the woods 
were impracticable for cavalry, the knights dismounted, ordered 
the foot into the rear, and formed themselves into a solid and 
compact body. At this moment the Swiss, according to their 
custom, threw themselves on their knees, and with uplifted 
hands, implored the assistance of the Most High. Some of the 
the Austrians observing this action, exclaimed, 'They are sup- 
plicating for pardon !' but they were soon undeceived, for the 
confederate troops instantly quitted the woods, and with shouts 
and exclamations poured down into the plain. A few only 
were in armour ; some brandished the halberts which their fore- 
fathers had wielded at Morgarten ; others bore two-handed 
swords and battle-axes, and instead of shields, wore boards fas- 
tened to their left arms ; the Austrian host, on the contrary, 
covered from head to foot with blazing armour, presented a 
solid range of shields, and a horrent front of projecting spears. 

"The Swiss drew up in the form of a wedge, and rushed with 
their usual impetuosity to the attack, but made no impression 
on this formidable phalanx ; the banner of Lucern was exposed 
to imminent danger, and the landamman, with sixty of their 
most adventurous warriors, fell before a single enemy received 
a wound. They hesitated for a moment, regarding their ene- 
mies with a mixture of indignation and despair ; while the flanks 
of the phalanx advancing in a crescent, endeavoured to close on 
their rear. At this awful crisis, Arnold de Winkelried, a knight 
of Underwalden, bursting from the ranks, exclaimed 'I will open 
a passage into the line ; protect, dear countrymen and confede- 
rates, my wife and children!' Then throwing himself on the 
enemy, he seized as many pikes as he could grasp, and burying 
them in his bosom, bore them by his weight to the ground. 
His companions rushed over his expiring body, and forced them- 
selves into the heart of the line, others with equal intrepidity 
penetrated into the intervals occasioned by the shock, and the 
whole unwieldy mass was thrown into confusion and dismay. 
The knights, oppressed with their ponderous armour, and in- 
cumbered with their long spears, were unable to withstand the 
impetuous assault of the Swiss, or to recover from their disor- 
der ; and their servants, perceiving the general consternation, 
mounted the horses of their masters, and left them no hope of 



36 

safety by flight. The fight was for a while sustained by the 
efforts of personal valour, and the undaunted spirit of chivalry ; 
but the havoc soon became general ; numbers fell by the sword 
of the enemy ; many perished by the pressure of their com- 
panions and the intense heat, and not less than 2,000, of whom 
almost one third were counts, barons, and knights, were num- 
bered among the slain. 

" Two hundred only of the confederates fell in this memorable 
battle, among whom were their most distinguished chiefs. 
Fatigued with slaughter, and the excessive heat, they did not 
pursue the fugitives ; but returned their usual thanksgiving to 
Heaven on the field, and the following day agreed to an arm- 
istice for burying the dead. The remains of Leopold and 
twenty-seven of his most illustrious followers were conveyed to 
the abbey of Konigsfelden, and the bodies of the lords of Ar- 
gau were deposited in the tombs of their ancestors. Those of 
inferior note were buried on the spot ; the two hundred confe- 
derates received funeral honours at Lucern, and as at Morgarten 
a solemn anniversary was established in commemoration of the 
victory. 

The defeat of Leopold and the battle of Sempach did not 
terminate the war, or depress the courage of the Austrian princes 
and then allies ; for six days after the battle, not less than 
fifty nobles, among whom was the burgrave of Nuremberg, the 
archbishop of Mentz, and the bishop of Bamberg, sent decla- 
rations of war to the victorious confederates ; and Leopold, se- 
cond son of the late duke, though scarcely fifteen, hastened to 
superintend the preparations, to avenge the death of his father, 
and retrieve the honour of his family. A desultory war was 
continued in various parts of Helvetia ; the Swiss, encouraged 
by their astonishing success, prosecuted hostilities with spirit 
and vigour, and by the accession of Bern, acquired additional 
strength. The important post of Wesen on the lake of Wal- 
lenstadt, which commanded the passes into the cantons of Gla- 
rus, and cut oft" the communication with Zurich, was surprised 
and garrisoned by the Swiss ; and the men of Gaster and Sar- 
gens, subjects of Austria, accepted the protection of Glarus. The 
citizens of Bern repelled the aggressions of the people of Ky- 
burgh, who had continued invariably attached to their sove- 
reigns, and took several forts in the vicinity belonging to the 
vassals of the House of Austria. The sons of the deceased 



87 

Leopold being dispirited by these reverses, distressed for the 
means of supporting the war, and weakened by the loss of their 
principal nobility at the battle of Sempach, concluded an ar- 
mistice of eighteen months. 

"During this interval of tranquillity, both parties employed 
their efforts in fortifying and securing the strong places, and 
preparing for the renewal of hostilities. The people of Glarus 
acknowledged the supreme authority of the abbess of Seckingen, 
and the rights of the family of Austria, as advocates of that 
abbey ; but emulating the example of the Swiss, they estab- 
lished regulations which greatly reduced their power and influ- 
ence. The innovation displeased the Austrian princes, and the 
truce was scarcely expired, before they renewed hostilities, and 
directed their principal efforts against Glarus. Early in the 
spring of 1388 their troops surprised the town of Wesen, mas- 
sacred the garrison, and in April an army of 8000 men, com- 
manded by the count of Tockenburgh, forced the intrenchments 
which protected the frontier, and devastating the country with 
fire and sword, penetrated as far as Naefels. Here only 350 
men of Glarus, with 50 of Schwyz, who had crossed the moun- 
tains by night, waited their approach, on the hill of Ruti. Des- 
pising so inconsiderable a body, part of the Austrian troops dis- 
persed themselves to plunder, and burnt Naefels ; the remain- 
der attacked the Swiss, and experienced the same fate as their 
forefathers at Morgarten. The Swiss hurled down on them 
large stones and fragments of rock, and having thrown the horse 
into confusion, rushed from the heights, and attacked them 
with their characteristic impetuosity. At this critical juncture, 
the mountains resounded with shouts of exultation, and a band 
of warriors descending from the Upper Valley, assailed the 
Austrians, already in confusion. Seized with a panic, they fled 
in all directions, and were pursued by the assailants with re- 
doubled ardor ; many were slain in the flight, and more drowned 
in the lake of Wallenstadt, by the breaking of the bridge of 
Wesen. One hundred and eighty knights, and two thousand 
soldiers perished in the conflict, or the flight ; and eleven ban- 
ners, with a thousand suits of armor, were preserved as trophies 
of the victory. The conquerors, after their customary devotions, 
passed the night on the field of battle, and advancing the next 
morning, sacked and burnt Wesen. 



88 

" The troops of Zurich, which had assembled too late for the 
succor of Glarus, joined the victors, and besieged Rapperschwyl : 
on the other side, Berne took the Austrian towns of Nidau, 
Buren, and Unterseven, and extended her conquest as far as 
Brack, and the valley of Frick on the Rhine. The counts of 
Tockenburgh made a separate peace with the Swiss ; and at 
length the dukes of Austria, apprehensive of the defection of 
the Thurgau, which was agitated with discontents, and dreading 
the loss of the Argau, which was threatened by the arms of 
Berne and Zurich, engaged in wars and troubles on the side 
of Austria, and disunited by family quarrels, concluded, in 
1388, a truce for seven years. The Swiss were to maintain their 
alliances, and preserve their possessions during the continuance 
of the truce, with all their conquests, except Wesen ; the dukes 
of Austria agreed to establish no fresh tolls or imposts, and the 
confederates were not to admit any subjects of Austria, not re- 
siding within their boundaries, into their co-burghership. Fu- 
ture disputes were to be adjusted by arbitration. 

" This trace was prolonged in 1394, for twenty years, at the 
request of Leopold, who had succeeded to the dominions of his 
father in Helvetia ; and on this occasion he renounced all claims 
to the conquests of the confederates, promised not to fortify We- 
sen, limited the contributions of Zug and Glarus, and confirmed 
their league with the Swiss, together with that of Entlibuch, 
and Sempach with Lucern." 

The children of Albert II. and Leopold II. made no additions 
to the family territories. But the consequences of the division 
of these territories between the two branches of the family were 
frightful for the Austrians. 

" Both parties, by a species of legal tyranny, sated their ven- 
geance and avidity with the treasures and lives of their oppo- 
nents, and alternately sacrificed the adherents of each other as 
they gained the ascendancy. The nobles availed themselves 
of these contests to indulge the spirit of misrule and licentious- 
ness, which had been repressed by the preceding sovereigns ; 
robbers and banditti again infested the highways, insulted the 
towns and villages with impunity, and the whole country be- 
came a scene of pillage, devastation, and carnage. 

" Such was the deplorable state of Austria, till tlje death of 
Leopold in 1411, at the age of forty." 



Albert V. procured the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, by 
marrying the daughter of the Emperor Sigismond, who was 
also King of these nations, and of whom he had gained the fa- 
vor, by the effectual assistance he had given him in the Hussite 
war. He was crowned in Hungary by the Diet, after having 
promised by oath never to accept the imperial diadem. In 
Bohemia he was acknowledged by the capital and by the town 
of Kuttenburg ; but the Hussites refused their assent, and falling 
back upon the privileges of the Bohemian constitution, they 
sent to Poland for Kasimir, brother of the Polish King. Albert 
nevertheless proceeded to Prague, and was crowned in the ca- 
thedral by the Catholic party. Then, assisted by some of the 
princes of the empire, he led an army of 30,000 men against 
the Hussites and Poles, and besieged Tabor. 

" He would have compelled the fortress to surrender, had 
not George Podiebrad, who first distinguished himself on this 
occasion, by a successful sally, forced him to raise the siege, and 
retire to Prague, while Uladislaus made an irruption into Sile- 
sia. Notwithstanding this check, the margrave of Branden- 
burgh drove the king of Poland from Silesia ; and the auxiliary 
Poles, after killing their horses for food, returned to their coun- 
try on foot. In consequence of this success a congress was held 
at Breslau, and a truce concluded with Uladislaus ; the Huss- 
ites agreed to a cessation of arms, and peace was once more re- 
stored to Bohemia. 

"In the midst of these conflicts, Albert was chosen king of 
the Romans, as a prince who, by his extensive possessions and 
distinguished talents, was most capable of allaying the dissen- 
tions of Germany, and arresting the alarming progress of the 
Turks. He at first declined the proffered dignity from a regard 
to his oath, but being liberated from his engagements by the 
Hungarian states, and absolved by the council of Basle, he 
yielded to the exhortations of his relatives and the instances of 
the electors ; and, though never crowned, obtained and deserved 
a place among the emperors." 

Albert V. died .of the dysentery, caught in an expedition 
against the Turks, which he made in 1439 ; and a long period 
of distraction folio wed in Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, while 
his posthumous son Ladislaus was growing up. These troubles 
were in 1452* somewhat composed, by the queen mother's giv- 
ing the administration of Hungary to John Hunniades ; that of 



40 

Bohemia to George Podiebrad ; and that of Austria to Count 
Cilli ; until the young king should reach his majority. It is 
not within the scope of our purpose to enter into the details of 
the events of this period, rendered a brilliant page of history, 
by the splendid administration of John Hunniades, and his vic- 
tories over the Turks, by which he saved not only his native 
Hungary, but all the rest of the dominions of Ladislaus. Yet 
we can hardly resist giving the whole chapter of Coxe (XIV.), 
since it shows one of those great services which Hungary did 
for the house of Austria, and even for all Europe. 

Ladislaus Posthumus died before his marriage, and thus one 
branch of the Hapsburgh family became extinct. Within the 
same century the line of Tyrol also ended with Sigismond, son 
of Frederic IV., fourth son of Leopold II. 

"From the circumstances of his sudden decease, and the doubt- 
ful nature of his disorder, his death was attributed to poison, 
and Podiebrad was charged with the atrocious crime. This 
imputation, which arose from the reports of the Germans, and 
obtained credit only from the accession of Podiebrad to the 
throne, has, however, been ably refuted by the Bohemian his- 
torians, who incontestably prove that the death of Ladislaus 
was occasioned by the plague. 

" The reign of Sigismond is memorable in the history of the 
House of Austria, for the loss of all the dominions which yet remain- 
ed to his family in Switzerland, and which were reduced to Lower 
Sargans, Kyburgh, Winterthur, and Rapperschwyl. As he in- 
herited the claims of his family to their former territories, he 
naturally fostered an antipathy to the Helvetic confederates ; he 
was still further irritated by the loss of Rapperschwyl, the in- 
habitants of which town throwing off their allegiance, were 
received under the protection of Schwyz, Uri, Under walden, 
and Glarus. He therefore augmented the garrison of Winter- 
thur, and seemed inclined to seize the first opportunity of at- 
tacking the confederates, when he was involved in disputes with 
Nicholas de Cusa, cardinal archbishop of Brixen, for the pos- 
session of some silver mines recently discovered at Schwartz ; 
hostilities commenced, but were suspended by the intervention 
of Pius II., who in 1460 summoned both parties before his 
tribunal. Before the decision of the cause, however, the war 
was renewed, and Sigismond investing the castle of Brunic, took 
the bishop prisoner. The pope irritated by this contempt-' 



41 

of his authority, fulminated a sentence of excommunication 
against Sigismond, and instigated the Swiss to invade his ter- 
ritories. They eagerly obeyed the summons, overran the Thur- 
gau without opposition, received the voluntary allegiance of 
the natives at Frauenfield, besieged Winterthur, and made in- 
cursions into the Austrian territories in the vicinity of the lake 
of Constance. Sigismond, unable to resist the forces of the 
confederates, obtained a peace by the cession of the conquered 
territories ; and being stripped of the greater part of his posses- 
sions, sold Kyburgh and Winterthur to Zurich, and thus alie- 
nated the remnant of the Austrian inheritance in Switzerland. 

" In imitation of his father, he was no sooner emancipated 
from his guardians than he made a pilgrimage to the Holy 
Land, where he received the order of Cyprus, and of the Holy 
Sepulchre. So eager was he to gratify his curiosity, that he 
accompanied some Jew merchants, in disguise, into the Turkish 
territories, examined with attention the. manners and customs 
of a people so different from the Christian world, and collected 
jewels and other valuable curiosities. Of this pilgrimage the 
celebrated JEneas Sylvius thus speaks in his oration to Pope 
Nicholas V., when he was recommending a crusade against 
the infidels : — ' The princes of the sublime house of Austria, 
which ranks among its members many kings and emperors, 
deemed themselves secure of success only when they served 
the Supreme Being with fidelity and constancy. Frederic, 
following their example, was no sooner delivered from the care 
of his guardians than, despising the dangers and tempests of 
the deep, he repaired to Jerusalem, anxious to kiss the earth 
sanctified by the footsteps of our blessed Redeemer. He visited 
the sepulchre of our Lord, beheld Mount Calvary, and the pal- 
ace of Pilate, and ascended the Mount of Olives. He entered 
the desert ; crossed the river Jordan ; reached Bethlehem ; 
penetrated into the valley of Jehoshaphat ; and, by the sight 
of these sacred places, was inspired with an incredible and ar- 
dent devotion. 

"At the age of twenty, Frederic assumed the reins of govern- 
ment as duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, in conjunction 
with his brother Albert. On the death of his uncle Frederic 
of Tyrol, in 1435, he became guardian of Sigismond, and, on 
the decease of the emperor Albert, was appointed regent by the 
states of Austria, and guardian of Ladislaus Posthumus. 



42 

" The imperial throne being vacant by the death of Albert II., 
the electors nominated Louis landgrave of Hesse ; and that 
prince declining the crown, their choice unanimously fell on 
Frederic, as the eldest member of his illustrious house ; but he 
hesitated to accept a dignity, however exalted, which was sur- 
rounded by difficulties and dangers." 

After the death of Sigismond, the house of Austria was re- 
duced to the Styrian line, founded by Ernest, third son of Leo- 
pold L, who was killed at the battle of Sempach. This Ernest 
had married a niece of Ladislas Jagellon, king of Poland. She 
was remarkable for her beauty and accomplishments ; yet, says 
Coxe, " historians record that Cymburga was endowed with such 
masculine strength, that she could crack nuts with her fingers, 
and with her hand drive a nail as far as others with a hammer ! 
She was the mother of several children, some of whom died in 
their infancy, and from her are said to have been derived the 
thick lips — the characteristic feature of the Austrian family." 

" During his continuance at Frankfort, Frederic endeavored 
to avail himself of the divisions subsisting among the Swiss 
Cantons, to attempt the recovery of the dominions which had 
been wrested from the house of Austria. The contest which had 
arisen for the succession to the Tockenburgh, had terminated 
unfavorably for Zurich ; for Schwyz and Glarus had gained the 
widow and the collateral heirs of the count, and, by intrigue or 
persuasion, had finally succeeded in obtaining the support of the 
other confederates ; Zurich, invested and pressed on all sides, 
was reduced to accept their mediation, and submit to the 
award of the five remaining cantons. 

" The burghers of Zurich, irritated by the loss of their terri- 
tories, and the disgrace to which they had been reduced, were 
eager to avenge themselves ; they sent ambassadors to Frederic 
to apologise for their incursions into the county of Sargans dur- 
ing the war, and offered to purchase his alliance, by restoring 
the county of Kyburgh. Frederic eagerly accepted the offer ; 
as head of the house of Austria, he concluded an alliance with 
them on the very day of his coronation, and secretly promised 
to assist them in recovering a part of the Tockenburgh inheri- 
tance. 

"The confederates, jealous of his intentions, and suspicious of 
his new connection, required Zurich to renounce her alliance 
with the house of Austria, as contrary to an article of the union, 



43 

lating that no connection was to be formed by any canton with 
her powers, except by common consent. The refusal was the sig- 
lal for war, which raged for four years with a degree of fury and 
mimosity which is only displayed in civil broils ; till both parties, 
'atio-ued with their exertions, and recoilino; from the enormities 
irhich they had committed, equally panted for the termination 
m the contest. The dispute being submitted to arbitration, a 
pence was arranged in May, 1447, between the house of Aus- 
tria, Zurich, and the other Swiss confederates. Affairs on both 
sides were to be restored to the same situation as before the re- 
newal of hostilities ; but Zurich renounced her alliance with the 
house of Austria ; and thus the grand principle of the Helvetic 
confederacy, that no league was valid unless concluded with the 
consent of the other cantons, was acknowledged and establi- 
shed. At the same time, arbitators were chosen to the dispute 
between the house of Austria and Basle ; but the war was pro- 
longed by the refusal of the burghers to dismiss the council. 
They at length yielded to the threats of Frederic, who menaced 
them with the ban of the empire ; and after various skirmishes, 
and the recovery of Rheinfelden by the Austrians, an accom- 
modation was effected in 1449, which placed both parties in the 
same situation as before the commencement of hostilities." 

The most important act of Frederic III., so far as our purpose 
is concerned, was his confirmation to the family, by means of 
the imperial powers of the archducal title, which had first been 
assumed by Rodolph IV ; and which " raised the house of Aus- 
tria to a dignity only inferior to that of the electors, and invested 
it with privileges greater than those possessed by any other 
prince of the empire. The grant was capriciously founded on 
letters patent of Julius Caesar and Nero, and the diplomas of 
Frederic L, Henry VI., and Frederic II., in favor of the Bam- 
berg line, confirmed by Rodolph of Hapsburgh, when he invest- 
ed his two sons with the Austrian territories. In virtue of 
these privileges, the archdukes of Austria were to be considered 
as having obtained the investiture of their dominions, if they 
did not receive it after thrice demanding it from the emperor. 
They were not to be required to pass the limits of their terri- 
tories, but were to be invested within the borders of Austria on 
horseback, clad in a regal mantle, wearing a ducal coronet sur- 
mounted with the imperial diadem and cross, and holding a 
staff of command. The archdukes were declared bv birth 



44 

privy-counsellors of the emperor, and their territories could not 
be put under the ban of the empire. All attempts against 
their persons were to be punished as crimes of high treason ; 
and they could not be challenged to single combat : they were 
exempted from the necessity of attending at the diet, and from 
all contributions and public charges, except the maintenance 
of twelve men-at-arms for one month against the Turks in Hun- 
gary ; they were empowered to levy taxes, to grant letters of 
legitimation, and to create counts, barons, and other inferior ti- 
tles ; in failure of issue male, the females were to enjoy the right 
of succession, and in failure of heirs, the archdukes were allowed 
to dispose of their territories by will. Any lands of the empire 
might be alienated in their favor, and their subjects could not 
be summoned out of their territories on account of lawsuits, to 
give testimony, or to receive the investiture of fiefs." 

The death of Ladislaus Posthumus, of whom Frederic had 
been guardian, had involved him in many disputes and contests, 
one of which was for the crown of Bohemia ; but this he lost in 
favor of the Bohemian nobleman, George Podiebrad ; another 
was for the crown of Hungary, to which he urged his right as 
possessor of the crown of St. Stephen, that he had had in safe 
keeping for eighteen years. But this also he lost to Matthias 
Corvinus, although he gained a victory over him at Kormund 
in Styria, for he could not follow up that advantage on account 
of a civil war with his brother Albert in Austria. 

" The terms which had been concluded between Frederic and 
Albert, for the partition of Austria, and their joint residence at 
Vienna, gave rise to disputes. Frederic soon became unpopu- 
lar to the citizens, and the haughty nobles of Austria displayed 
that turbulence and discontent natural to feudal governments 
under an indolent sovereign. These discontents being fomen- 
ted by Albert, soon broke out into open war ; and although a 
temporary reconciliation was effected by the king of Bohemia, 
neither party was sincerely desirous of peace ; the emperor was 
indignant at the restraints imposed on his authority ; and the ra- 
pacity of Albert was not gratified by his share of the Austrian 
possessions. Another and more dreadful contest ensued ; the 
whole country became a scene of intestine discord, and the ca- 
pital itself was divided into hostile factions ; the senate and the 
most moderate of the burghers, adhered to the emperor ; while 



45 



tie populace, headed by the burgomaster Hulzer, a restless 
.eniagogue, espoused the cause of Albert. 

" Frederic, alarmed for the safety of the empress, and his in- 
ant son Maximilian, who were in the citaded, appeared before 
he gates at the head of a body of Styrian horse. By his elo- 
quence and address, he succeeded in conciliating the most 
dolent of his opponents, and after an altercation which lasted 
hree days, was admitted into the city. Refusing, however, to 
iccede to all the demands of the disaffected, the populace again 
•ose, pillaged the houses of his adherents, compelled him to take 
•efuge in the citatel, and after a formal declaration of war, in- 
vested that fortress. At the same time Albert repairing to 
Vienna, concluded a treaty with the insurgents, and was in- 
trusted with the conduct of the siege. But Frederic, though at 
the head of only two hundred men, held out with great firmness, 
and evinced a resolution rather to be buried under the ruins of 
the fortress, than surrender to his rebellious subjects. He ap- 
pealed to the states of the empire, and when they were assem- 
bled at Nuremberg, a messenger arrived announcing that he 
was reduced to only three weeks provisions. The states displayed, 
indeed, a readiness to rescue him from his danger ; but the 
proverbial tardiness of their succours would have rendered their 
resolutions ineffectual, had not Frederic been relieved by the 
king of Bohemia, who promptly despatched his son with 5000 
men, and followed, in person, with an additional force of 8000. 
The advance of this timely succour relieved the emperor ; both 
parties submitted their dispute to the arbitration of the Bohe- 
mian monarch, and the terms of an accommodation were ad- 
justed. Both were to liberate their prisoners ; Albert was to 
restore the towns, fortresses, and countries which he had occu- 
pied, and to enjoy the government of Lower Austria for eight 
years, on condition of paying the annual sum of 4000 ducats 
to the emperor. 

" On the conclusion of this agreement, Frederic, escorted by a 
thousand Bohemian horse, met his deliverer at Corn-Neuburgh ; 
he gratefully conferred several privileges on the kingdom of Bo- 
hemia, raised the two sons of Podiebrad to the dignity of princes 
of the empire, and in recompence to the inhabitants of Prague, 
who had furnished troops on this occasion, he granted them an 
exemption from the tolls at Vienna, and every part of the im- 
perial territories. 



46 

"This accommodation was no less unavailing than former 
agreements ; the hatred and suspicion of the two brothers were 
too inveterate to be eradicated, and the ambition of Albert too 
grasping to be satisfied. New disputes arose relative to the 
fulfilment of the terms: Albert endeavoured to appropriate 
Lower Austria, received the oath of allegiance from the citizens 
of Vienna, and made preparations for the renewal of hostilities; 
while Frederic procured the publication of the ban of the em- 
pire, and the sentence of excommunication from the pope against 
his brother. The pope, the princes of the empire, and the 
common friends of the two brothers, interposed to terminate 
this unnatural contest; but Albert rejected all offers of accom- 
modation, and was with difficulty persuaded to conclude even 
a temporary armistice. In this interval, however, his arbitrary 
government and continual exactions had alienated the citizens 
of Vienna, and a strong party, among whom was even Hulzer 
himself, reconciled themselves with Frederic, and endeavoured 
to effect his restoration. Their designs being discovered, Albert 
sated his vengeance by condemning Hulzer to the scaffold, and 
by confiscating the property of the disaffected. At length 
Frederic was delivered from an active and turbulent rival, by 
the sudden death of Albert, who expired on the 4th of Decem- 
ber, 1463, at the moment when he was preparing to renew 
hostilities." 

Frederic was engaged in other wars for personal objects with 
other antagonists, as selfish in their aims as himself; although 
they illustrate the family character, they do not especially illus- 
trate our particular subject. The most important act of his 
life, and most fruitful of consequences, was his bringing about 
the marriage of his son Maximilian with Mary of Burgundy. 

"Before 1477, France and the house of Austria had no sub- 
ject of rivalry or jealousy, and their political interests were as 
distinct as their respective dominions. But the marriage of 
Maximilian with the heiress of Burgundy, entailed on the two 
powers an hereditary enmity, which deluged Europe with blood 
for more than three centuries. This enmity arising from jarring 
interests and contiguity of dominion, was rendered personal by 
the rupture of the marriage of Maximilian with Anne of Brit- 
tany, and the dismission of the archduchess Margaret; and 
though suspended by treaties and temporary expedients, was 
continually breaking out on every trifling occasion. 



47 

" From the time in which the house of Austria had been de- 
prived of all its territories in Helvetia, the Swiss confederacy 
liad increased in power and influence. Their union had been 
strengthened in 1481 by the accession of Soleure and Friburgh. 
Except the Pays de Vaud, which belonged to the house of Sa- 
/oy, Neufchatel, subject to its own counts and the Italian bail- 
ages, which were dependent on Milan, they or their allies pos- 
sessed almost the whole country which is now called Switzer- 
and. The Helvetic body thus becoming an important link in 
:he chain of European powers, their alliance was courted with 
much solicitude and intrigue by the greatest potentates, and 
they were induced to take an active part in the wars of the con- 
tinent. 

" The disputes between the house of Austria and France, for 
the succession of Burgundy and the possession of Brittany, and 
the almost constant hostilities to which these disputes gave rise, 
occasioned earnest and repeated solicitations from the house of 
Austria and France for an intimate union with the Swiss con- 
federates. Louis XL gained considerable influence among the 
Cantons by his private largesses to the leading men, his public 
subsidies, and the great privileges which he granted to those 
who served in his armies and settled in France. During the 
latter part of his reign, indeed, he forfeited the confidence of 
the Cantons, by withholding his bounties and subsidies ; but his 
son Charles regained their friendship by discharging the arrears 
and renewing the former connections. Maximilian, from the 
moment of his accession, was likewise desirous to form an al- 
liance with the Swiss, and to obtain a renewal of the hereditary 
union ; but the superior influence of France, as well as their 
natural jealousy of the house of Austria, induced them to reject 
all his offers. 

" That part of Rhaetia called the country of the Grisons, was 
originally a dependency of the German empire, and subject to 
feudal lords, the bishop of Coire, the abbot of Disentis, the 
counts of Werdenberg, Sax and Masox, the barons of Retzuns, 
and the count of Tockenburgh. Towards the middle of the 
fifteenth century the people emancipated themselves from feu- 
dal jurisdiction ; but their chiefs consenting to this emancipation 
were suffered to retain considerable prerogatives ; and thus the 
government became a singular mixture of aristocracy and de- 
mocrat. The countrv was divided into a number of little com- 



48 






munities under different forms of government : a few aristocra- 
tical, others popular, and some more democratical than even the 
rural cantons of Switzerland. These communities composed three 
leagues, called the Grey League, the League of God's House, 
and the League of Ten Jurisdictions ; and these by means of a 
general diet formed one republic. The people, hardened amidst 
the rugged rocks and perpetual snows of the Rhsetian Alps, 
were a rude, hardy, and warlike race, froward and licentious, 
impatient of control, and no less distinguished from the rest of 
mankind by their singular customs and manners, than by their 
situation and forms of government. 

" The bishop of Coire, the principal member of the League 
of God's House, had been engaged in perpetual contests with 
the sovereigns of the Tyrol, relative to the demarcation of the 
frontiers, the profits of mines and territorial possessions ; and 
those disputes were aggravated by rival pretensions to the ad- 
vocacy of the abbey of Munster, which had been claimed 
by the sovereigns of the Tyrol. Another object of dispute 
was the valle}^ of Prettigau, which forming the intermediate 
link between the Tyrol and the League of Ten Jurisdictions, 
was coveted by both parties. Amidst these contrary preten- 
sions and jarring interests, various feudal privileges in the 
barony of Retzuns, a community of the League of God's House, 
and in the whole League of Ten Jurisdictions, purchased by 
Sigismond, and transmitted to Maximilian, contributed to render 
him obnoxious to the Grison republics. These contests with 
Maximilian had overcome the jealousy which the Grisons had 
hitherto fostered against the Swiss, and soon after his acces- 
sion, the Rhsetian leagues united with the Swiss states in a 
formal confederacy, a union from which the house of Austria 
experienced the most fatal effects." 

We close our mention of Frederic with an amusing anecdote, 
sufficiently characteristic. 

" Like his great uncle Rodolph, he was attached to the study 
of antiquities and heraldry, and like him formed alphabets of 
mysterious characters, and whimsical devices. A species of ana- 
gram, consisting of the five vowels, he adopted as indicative 
of the future greatness of the house of Austria, imprinted it on 
all his books, carved it on all his buildings, and engraved it on 
all his plate. This riddle occupied the grave heads of his learn- 
ed contemporaries, and gave rise to many ridiculous conjectures ; 



49 

till the important secret was disclosed after his death by an in- 
terpretation written in his own hand, in which the vowels form 
the initials of a sentence in Latin and German, signifying ' the 
house of Austria is to govern the whole world.' 

austria TT'st Tmperare A''bi TTni verso. \ 

lies JEirdreich 1st Uesterreich U nterthan.y 

Fugger, p. 1080." 

The age of Maximilian was remarkable as the period in which 
the boundaries of the nations of Europe were strongly defined. 
It witnessed the union of Brittany with France ; of Castille 
with Aragon ; of Burgundy with Austria. It was also the 
epoch of the union of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, under 
Margaret at Calmar; of the rise of Russia, under Ivan Vassile- 
vitch ; of the greatest glory of Portugal, under John ; of the 
prosperity of Poland, under Albert ; of the union of Bohemia 
and Hungary, under Ladislas ; of a confederacy of the Grisons 
and Swiss, more especially directed against Austria; of the re- 
vival of literature and the arts in Italy, under the fostering care 
of the Medici and other merchant princes, who brought the 
Italian republics to their highest point of splendour; finally, 
it was the acme of the Turkish power in Europe, signalised by 
their taking Constantinople on the one hand, and the begin- 
ning of decline through the sudden death of Mahomet in 1431 
on the other. But more important than all political attitudes 
of nations, were the consequences of the invention of powder, 
and of printing. For these peaceful events were big with a 
revolution, which is not even yet, in five hundred years, fully 
developed, but which will unquestionably bear the ultimate fruits 
in America, which was also at that epoch just discovered. 

But Maximilian did not desert the hereditary character and 
line of action, to enter into the new ideas of the time. He 
struggled for means to drive both Spain and France from Italy, 
not in order to give Italy independence and freedom, but to 
revive the imperial power there ; a project he was at length 
compelled to abandon. But this portion of his action belongs 
to the history of Austrian influence in Italy, to which our nar- 
rative will return bye and bye, and view it as a whole. 

With respect to the Reformation, Coxe observes : 

" This controversy had attracted the attention of Maximilian, 

who was naturally fond of bold and novel opinions, and anxious 

to reform the abuses and curb the encroachments of the church. 

Far from opposing the first attacks of Luther against indul- 

3 



50 

gences, he was pleased with his spirit and acuteness, declared that 
he deserved protection, and treated his adversaries with con- 
tempt and ridicule. In the progress of the dispute he was, 
however, gradually drawn from this favourable opinion, and 
from conviction, from pique against Frederic of Saxony for 
opposing the election of his grandson, or from a desire of con- 
ciliating the Pope, was induced to interfere in the controversy. 
In a letter to Leo X., dated August 5, 1519, he stigmatised 
the principles of Luther as heretical, and alluded to his nume- 
rous and powerful supporters. He urged the necessity of ter- 
minating these rash disputes and captious arguments, by which 
the Christian church was scandalised, and offered to support 
and enforce the measures which the Pope should think neces- 
sary to adopt. 

" In consequence of this letter, Leo was induced to pursue more 
vigorous measures : he enjoined the cardinal of Gaeta, his legate 
at the diet of Augsburgh, to summon the heretic Luther in per- 
son ; if he refused to recant, to detain him in custody ; and, if 
he did not obey the summons, to denounce the sentence of ex- 
communication against him and all his protectors or adherents. 
At the same time Leo wrote to the elector of Saxony, request- 
ing him to withdraw his protection from Luther, and promising 
that if not found guilty, he should be liberated and absolved. 

" But at this critica moment the emperor Maximilian died, be- 
fore the papal bull could be presented to him, and the govern- 
ment devolved on the elector of Saxony, as vicar of the empire. 
The proceedings against the great reformer were thus suspend- 
ed, and he was enabled to improve his knowledge of the Holy 
Scriptures in silence and safety, to propagate his opinions, and, 
by study and meditation, to prepare himself for those hostilities 
against the authority of the Pope, which he had proclaimed hy 
his recent appeal. 

"Notwithstanding the exhortatory letter of Maximilian to 
the Pope, he seemed so little interested in the Lutheran contro- 
versy, that he dissolved the diet and quitted Augsburgh two 
days before the arrival of the Saxon reformer ; and so rapid 
was the progress of that disorder which hurried him to the 
grave, that he had no opportunity, had he possessed the incli- 
nation, to interfere in the subsequent discussion. 

"Although Maximilian did not illustrate his name and reign 
by conquest, or even considerable acquisitions by the sword, he 



51 

may justly be considered as the second founder of the house of 
Austria. By his own marriage with the princess Mary, daugh- 
ter of Charles the Bold, he secured the inheritance of the house 
of Burgundy; by the marriage of Philip with Johanna he 
brought into his family the succession of the Spanish monarchy, 
and by the intermarriage of his grandson, the archduke Ferdin- 
and, with Anne, daughter of Ladislaus, he entailed on his pos- 
terity the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. These and other 
vast acquisitions which the house of Austria obtained by mar- 
riage and not by arms, gave birth to a sarcastic epigram which 
has been attributed, though perhaps erroneously, to Matthias 
Corvinus, the celebrated king of Hungary : — 

Bella gerant alii, tu f elix Austria nube ; 
Nam quae Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus. 

" Since the reign of Charlemagne, no sovereign united such 
extensive territories and possessed such influence as Charles V., 
nor seemed more likely to realise the phantom of universal 
monarchy, which has never failed to fill the imagination of am- 
bitious, or excite the apprehensions of weak and timid princes. 

" He inherited the vast domains of the Spanish monarchy, 
including Naples and Sicily, and the recently discovered territo- 
ries in the new world, and the seventeen provinces of the Low 
Countries, with Franche Comte and Artois, at that time the 
richest, most populous, and most flourishing country in Europe. 
In conjunction with his brother Ferdinand, he also succeeded 
to the whole possessions of the house of Austria. To these he 
united the highest dignity in Europe, and although the crown 
of the empire had proved a burden to weak sovereigns, in his 
powerful hands it became a formidable engine for territorial ac- 
quisitions, in consequence of numerous claims on all the sur- 
rounding districts, its extensive jurisdiction, and the force which 
the influence of so powerful a prince could still draw from the 
vast and heterogeneous mass of the Germanic body. 

a Sovereign of such extensive territories, endowed with the 
most eminent talents, civil and military, and possessing almost 
universal influence by his connections and alliances, Charles 
seemed born to domineer over Europe ; nor could the union of 
the princes and states of Germany have secured their liberties, 
had not his power been weakened by the separation of the Aus- 
trian and Spanish dominions, by his wars with France and the 



52 

Turks, and still more circumscribed by the reformation in reli- 
gion, which was commenced and perfected by the efforts and 
perseverance of Luther. 

" After the death of Maximilian the Austrian territories were 
possessed in common by Charles and Ferdinand; but in 1521 
a partition was made. Charles ceded to his brother Austria, 
Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, with their dependencies, and in 
the ensuing year, the Tyrol, and the exterior provinces in 
Suabia and Alsace, reserving to himself only the reversion of 
Brisgau and the Alsatian territories, which he afterwards relin- 
quished. By this cession the house of Austria was divided into 
two separate and independent branches ; the Spanish branch 
under Charles, and the German under Ferdinand. 

"As Ferdinand, soon after the partition, became king of the 
Romans, as he finally succeeded to the imperial crown, it be- 
comes necessary, for the elucidation of the subject, not to omit 
the affairs of Germany under Charles, and particularly to dwell 
on the rise and progress of the Reformation, which produced 
such important effects to the house of Austria and to Europe." 

Charles immediately convoked the diet of the empire, and 
" among the causes enumerated by Charles for the convoca- 
tion of a diet, one of the most important was, ' to concert with 
the princes of the empire effectual measures for checking the 
progress of those new and dangerous opinions, which threatened 
to disturb the peace of Germany, and to overturn the religion of 
their ancestors? 

" Charles had already given evident proofs of an hostile dis- 
position towards the Lutheran doctrines, as well from conviction, 
as from a desire of obliging the pope, and an apprehension of 
alienating his subjects in Spain and the Low Countries, who 
were zealously attached to the religion of their ancestors. Be- 
fore his departure from Spain he had declared his intention to 
suppress the new opinions, and on his arrival in the Low Coun- 
tries had permitted the universities of Louvaine and Antwerp 
to burn the writings of Luther, and even supported the in- 
stances of the pope in urging the elector of Saxony to banish 
him from his territories. With these sentiments he opened the 
diet of Worms, permitted the papal legates to inveigh against 
Luther, and proposed that the German states should also con- 
demn his doctrines, and commit his writings to the flames. 



53 

" Charles, however, was astonished to find that the proscribed 
opinions had taken a deep root, and spread over a great part of 
the empire. The diet itself displayed an evident disposition to 
favour an attack on the pretensions and exactions of the pope; 
and the states presented a long list of grievances against the 
Roman see, of which they required the emperor, in virtue of his 
capitulation, to obtain redress. In opposition to all the re- 
monstrances of the legates, the members of the diet, at the 
instigation of the elector of Saxony, refused to proscribe Lu- 
ther before he had acknowledged himself as the author of the 
propositions condemned by the papal bull, and had refused to 
recant, as a measure no less contrary to the principles of justice 
than to the laws of the enrpire ; and they declared, that if he 
was convicted of error, and refused to retract, they would then 
assist the emperor in punishing his contumacy. The legates, 
who probably expected the same implicit obedience which had 
so long been paid to the dictates of the church, in vain contend- 
ed that an affair, already decided by the pope, could never be 
again brought into deliberation, and that a dispute with Luther 
would be endless, because he refused to acknowledge the au- 
thority of the church. They had the mortification to find that 
all their remonstrances were ineffectual, and that their assertions 
of papal infallibility were heard by the majority with indiffer- 
ence or contempt. 

" Charles, perceiving the sentiments of the diet, and unwilling 
to offend the elector of Saxony, to whom he owed the imperial 
crown, affected great candour and moderation, and, on the 6th 
of March, despatched a respectful summons and safe conduct 
to Luther ; though, to appease the legate, he promised that Lu- 
ther should not be suffered to defend, but simply to acknow- 
ledge or recant his doctrines. The undaunted reformer obeyed 
the summons with alacrity. His journey to Worms was like a 
triumphal procession, and his reception, from all orders of men, 
evinced the highest respect and admiration. Greater crowds 
assembled to behold him than had been drawn together by the 
public entry of the emperor ; and his apartments were crowd- 
ed daily and hourly with persons of the highest rank and con- 
sequence. On his appearance before the diet he behaved with 
great propriety, and acted with equal prudence and firmness. 
He acknowledged without hesitation, the works published un- 
der his name, but divided them into three classes. The first, 



64 

he adroitly observed, relating to faith and good works, contain- 
ed doctrines which were not disapproved even by his adversa- 
ries ; the second, relating to the power and decrees of the pope, 
he could not retract without injuring his conscience, and contri- 
buting to the support of papal tyranny; and, in the third, con- 
sisting of his writings against his opponents, he acknowledged, 
with regret, that the provocation of his adversaries had urged 
him beyond the bounds of moderation. He concluded, as usual, 
with declining to retract the condemned propositions, until con- 
vinced by arguments from reason and Scripture, not by the 
fallible authority of popes and councils, which experience had 
proved to be frequently erroneous and contradictory. When 
again required to recant, he persisted in his resolution, and con- 
cluded with exclaiming. 'Here I stand, I can do no more. 
God be my help. Amen,' 

"The papal legate, and some of the members of the diet, 
provoked at his contumacy, exhorted the emperor to imitate 
the example of his predecessor, Sigismond, by withdrawing his 
protection from an heretic; but Charles rejected their advice 
with becoming disdain. He was, however, no less exasperated 
at the refusal of Luther to recant ; and, after the second exami- 
nation, retired in the evening to his cabinet, and drew up, with 
his own hand, a declaration of his attachment to the church, 
and of his resolution to proscribe the condemned doctrines. 
'Descended as I am,' he said, 'from the Christian emperors of 
Germany, the Catholic kings of Spain, and from the archdukes 
of Austria and the dukes of Burgundy, all of whom have pre- 
served, to the last moment of their lives, their fidelity to the 
church, and have always been the defenders and protectors of 
the Catholic faith, its decrees, ceremonies, and usages, I have 
been, am still, and will ever be devoted to those Christian doc- 
trines, and the constitution of the church, which they have left 
to me as a sacred inheritance. And as it is evident that a sin- 
gle monk has advanced opinions contrary to the sentiments of 
all Christians, past and present, I am firmly determined to wipe 
away the reproach which a toleration of such errors would cast 
on Germany, and to employ all my power and resources, my 
body, my blood, my life, and even my soul, in checking the 
progress of this sacrilegious doctrine. I will not, therefore, per- 
mit Luther to enter into any further explanation, and will in- 
stantly dismiss, and afterwards treat him as an heretic; but I 



55 

will not violate my safe-conduct, and will cause him to be re- 
conducted to Wittemberg in safety.' 

"The edict of Worms was passed on the 28th of May, but, to 
give it the appearance of unanimity, was antedated the 8th. It 
declared Luther a heretic and schismatic, confirmed the sen- 
tence of the pope, and denounced the ban of the empire against 
all who should defend, maintain, or protect him. To prevent 
also the dissemination of his opinions, it prohibited the impres- 
sion of any book on matters of faith, without the approbation 
of the ordinary, and of some neighbouring university. 

" Fortunately for the Reformation, the emperor was prevented 
from executing the edict of Worms by his absence from Ger- 
many, by the civil commotions in Spain, and still more by the 
war with Francis I., which extended into Spain, the Low Coun- 
tries, and Italy, and for above eight years involved him in a 
continued series of contests and negotiations at a distance from 
Germany. 

" Even in the hereditary countries of the house of Austria the 
Reformation found numerous advocates. Notwithstanding Fer- 
dinand had endeavoured to enforce the edict of Worms, the 
evangelical principles were not only received by the people, but 
were adopted by many of the higher orders, and by the profes- 
sors of the university of Vienna. The same spirit pervaded 
Bohemia ; and that country, so feebly connected with the church 
and the empire, seemed again likely to become the scene of 
those religious troubles by which it had been desolated during 
the Hussite wars. 

"The Reformation, thus successful in Germany, spread with 
equal rapidity in the neighbouring countries. Zuingle, the 
illustrious head of the reformed church in Switzerland, who had 
preceded Luther in his attacks against the Roman see, who 
equalled him in zeal and intrepidity, and surpassed him in 
learning and candor, had advanced with more daring steps ; 
and free from the restraints which subjection to the will of a 
sovereign had imposed on the German divine, had overturned 
the whole fabric of the established worship. So early as 1524, 
the canton of Zurich renounced the supremacy of the pope ; 
and, in 1528, Bern, Basle, and Schaffhausen, and part of the 
Grisons, Glarus, and Appenzel, followed the example. 

"The reformed doctrines spread likewise over the kingdoms 
of the north : Christian II., the brother-in-law of Charles, had 



56 

been driven from the throne of Sweden by Gustavus Vasa, and 
from that of Denmark by Frederic of Oldenburgh ; and in both 
countries the jurisdiction of the pope was abolished, and the 
Lutheran declared the established religion. In England, also, 
the influence and authority of the church experienced a similar 
decline ; the Reformation was received by the people with an 
eagerness which all the despotism of the sovereign could not 
repress, and even Henry VIII. himself, who, by writing against 
Luther, had acquired the title of Defender of the Faith, was 
preparing to undermine the authority of the pope, and was 
suing for that divorce from his queen, Catherine of Arragon, 
which soon afterwards occasioned the separation of England 
from the see of Rome. In France a similar schism took place, 
notwithstanding the efforts of Francis I., who, while he encou- 
raged the reformers of Germany, persecuted them in his own 
dominions : a considerable party which had seceded from the 
church, had been already formed under the auspices of Farell, 
and afterwards increased by the labours of Calvin, from whom 
they received the denomination of Calvinists. 

" The progress of the reformed doctrines, and the conduct of 
the reformed princes, was not likely to allay the animosity which 
subsisted between the two religious parties. The Catholics pre- 
sented urgent and continual representations to the emperor ; 
and, on the other hand, the Lutherans exerted every effort to 
maintain and extend their cause, by entering into associations, 
and making preparations to resist aggression. Above all, Phi- 
lip, landgrave of Hesse, a prince perhaps sincere in his attach- 
ment to the new religion, but violent, ambitious, and interested, 
collected troops, and after alarming all Germany by dubious 
threats, commenced aggression by invading the territories of the 
bishops of Wurtzburg and Bamberg. The Catholic princes, 
being ill-prepared to retaliate, the civil war which now threat- 
ened Germany, and which afterwards burst forth with such 
fury, was suspended by their moderate language and pacific 
assurances; and Philip disbanded his troops, after receiving 
considerable sums of money in disbursement of his expenses. 
The reformed party were thus encouraged by the timidity and 
irresolution of their adversaries, and the animosity of the Ca- 
tholics was augmented by their own humiliation. 

"Hence the emperor summoned, in 1529, a second diet at 
Spire, for the usual purpose of opposing the Turks, who had 



57 

overrun Hungary, and even threatened the Austrian territories ; 
but principally for terminating the contests relating to religion. 
It was opened on the loth of March, and in the absence of the 
emperor, presided over by Ferdinand, who had recently succeed- 
ed to the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. Every other con- 
sideration yielded to the affairs of religion ; and the Catholics, 
sensible of the fatal consequences derived from the vote passed 
at the preceding diet of Spire, united the influence of their 
whole body to procure its repeal or modification. By a majo- 
rity of voices a decree was passed, under the pretence of ex- 
plaining, but virtually repealing the former edict of toleration, 
which was declared to have been misunderstood, and to have 
given rise to a variety of new doctrines. It was enacted, that 
in all places where the edict of Worms had been executed, it 
should be still observed, till the meeting of a council ; that those 
who had adopted the new opinions should desist from all fur- 
ther innovations; that the mass should be re-established in all 
places where it had been abolished, and the Catholic subjects 
of reformed princes be suffered to enjoy unlimited toleration. 
The ministers of the Gospel were to preach the word of God, 
according to the interpretation of the church, and to abstain 
from promulgating new doctrines. No hostilities were to be 
committed under pretence of religion, and no prince was to pro- 
tect the subjects of another. The severest penalties were de- 
nounced against the Anabaptists ; and regulations were estab- 
lished against the reformed sect called Sacramentarians, who, 
in the doctrine of the real presence in the sacrament, differed 
both from the Catholics and Lutherans. 

" The Lutherans could not avoid perceiving the intent of this 
decree, and were justly alarmed with its probable consequences. 
After in vain endeavouring to prevent it from receiving the ap- 
probation of the diet, they published their dissent by a regular 
protest. They declared that what had been decided unani- 
mously in one diet, ought not to be revoked in another by a 
majority : and as the mass had been proved by their ministers 
to be contrary to the institution of Christ, they could not con- 
scientiously permit its use among their subjects, or allow the 
absurd practice of administering the communion according to 
two different forms in the same place. They reprobated the 
clause which enacted the preaching of the Gospel according to 
the interpretations of the church, because it did not determine 
3* 



58 

which was the true church. They argued that the Scrip- 
ture, as the only certain and infallible rule of life, ought to be 
explained by itself alone, and not by human traditions, which 
are doubtful and uncertain ; and they, therefore, declared 
their resolution to suffer nothing to be taught except the Old 
and New Testament in their pristine purity. They readily ac- 
ceded to the proscription of the Anabaptists ; but with a libe- 
rality of sentiment, which they afterwards belied, they refused 
to join in proscribing the Sacramentarians, on the same princi- 
ple which they had claimed for themselves, that no doctrines 
ought to be condemned until they had been heard and refuted. 
They concluded with professing their earnest desire to main- 
tain tranquillity, and their acquiescence in the prosecution of 
those who were said to have violated the peace, before equita- 
ble judges. 

" This protest was signed by John, elector of Saxony, George, 
margrave of Brandenburgh Anspach, Ernest and Francis, dukes 
of Brunswick Lunenberg, Philip, landgrave of Hesse Cassel, 
Wolfgang, prince of Anhalt, and fourteen imperial cities, who 
thus appealed to the emperor and to a future council. From 
this protest the Lutherans acquired the name of Protestants, 
which has been since applied to all who separated from the 
church of Rome. 

" Notwithstanding the remonstrance of the Protestants, the 
decree of the diet of Spire was but the prelude to still severer mea- 
sures, which the emperor was determined to enforce by his pre- 
sence, when relieved from the war in which he was then engaged. 
He had, therefore, no sooner concluded the treaty of Barcelona 
with the pope, and that of Cambray with Francis, than he quit- 
ted Spain with a resolution to restore the unity of the church. 
At Placentia, being met by a deputation with the protest of 
the Lutherans, he arrested the deputies, and arrogantly required 
its revocation, He continued his route to Bologna, where he was 
met on the 21st of February, 1520, by Clement VII., and re- 
ceived the crowns of Lombardy and of the empire with more 
than usual solemnity. 

" During his stay at Bologna he was induced, by the advice 
of his chancellor Gattinara, to assume at least the appearance 
of more mildness and moderation than he had before displayed, 
and to fulfil his repeated promises of endeavouring to procure 
the convocation of a general council. With this view he held 



50 

frequent and private conferences with Clement ; but he was 
unable to overcome his repugnance, and was persuaded by the 
pontiff to. resume his intention of employing- force, if he failed 
in effecting the re-union of the church by mild and moderate 
measures. In consequence of this determination, he summoned 
a diet to meet at Augsburgh in April, in a circular letter, dated 
January 1, which breathes the spirit of conciliation and Chris- 
tianity. ' I have convened,' he observed, ' this assembly, to con- 
sider the difference of opinions on the subject of religion ; and 
it is my intention to hear both parties with candour and chari- 
ty, to examine their respective arguments, to correct and reform 
what requires to be corrected and reformed, that the truth being 
known, and harmony re-established, there may, in future, be 
only one pure and simple faith, and, as all are disciples of the 
same Jesus, all may form one and the same church.' 

"A subsequent letter, in which he prorogued the meeting till 
the 15th of May, was couched in expressions equally temperate 
and equitable. Yet, notwithstanding these specious declara- 
tions of impartiality and moderation, the Protestant princes had 
just reason to doubt his sincerity. They recollected his earnest 
endeavours to enforce the edict of Worms, and the exertion of 
all his influence and authority in the empire to obtain the edict 
of the second diet of Spire. The preamble of the treaty of 
Madrid, in which he had unequivocally announced his hostility 
to their doctrines, and the arrest of the deputies who carried 
their protest, were the most public proofs of his intentions. 
They were also alarmed at his long residence at Bologna, and 
his frequent conferences and good understanding with the pope ; 
and they had already learned to dread and suspect his dissimu- 
lation. In fact, the Protestant princes were so convinced that 
the emperor covered, under fair words, the most intolerant and 
despotic designs, that they deliberated whether they should not 
instantly assemble their forces, conclude an alliance with Zurich 
and Berne, and attack him before he was in a situation to sub- 
jugate them. But this resolution, of which subsequent events 
proved the expediency, was counteracted by the divines of Wit- 
temberg, and by none more than Luther, who, though fierce in 
debate, and overbearing in controversy, was averse to war, and 
exhorted the elector to leave to God the defence of his own 



GO- 

Coxe goes on to tell all the action of Charles against the 
Protestants, first under the mask of moderation and then in 
open violence, until he was compelled to the religious truce of 
1532 by an eruption of the Turks into Hungary, threatening 
Austria also with invasion, an event requiring the union of the 
Protestant and Catholic States against a common enemy. 

Meanwhile the Catholics had obtained from Charles the ap- 
pointment of a king of the Romans, who being attached "to the 
Church, might by his presence give force to the government, 
and support to the Catholic cause. With a natural partiality 
he proposed his brother Ferdinand, who, in addition to the her- 
editary countries of the house of Austria, had recently obtained 
the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. He positively refused 
to accept any other coadjutor ; and his poAverful influence con- 
curring with the wishes of the Catholic electors, Ferdinand was 
regularly chosen by the whole college, except the elector of 
Saxony, on the 5th of January, 1531. 

"The religious feuds being thus suspended, the German states 
were enabled to turn their whole force against the enemy of 
Christendom. The Protestants, eager to prove that their re- 
cent opposition had been merely derived from motives of con- 
science, exerted themselves with unusual alacrity, doubled and 
even trebled their contingents ; and by their assistance Charles 
was principally enabled to lead an army in person against the 
infidels, and expel them from the Austrian dominions. He 
displayed, however, but little gratitude for this assistance ; for 
he was no sooner relieved from his apprehensions of the Turks, 
than he encouraged the imperial chamber to recommence its 
proceedings against the Protestants, under the plea that the 
agreement of Nuremberg regarded the toleration of religious 
opinions, and not the possession of ecclesiastical property. The 
Protestants, roused by these proceedings, again renewed the 
confederacy of Smalkalde, and their engagements with foreign 
states ; while their active and enterprising chief, the landgrave 
of Hesse, entered, with a considerable army, into the territories 
of Wirtemberg, defeated the Austrian troops at LaurTen, and 
restored the duchy to duke Ulric, who had embraced the Pro- 
testant doctrines. 

"At this juncture the more timid or moderate of the Catholics 
interfered, and, through their interposition, and the mediation 
of the elector of Mentz and George duke of Saxony, with the 



61 

chiefs of the Protestant party, a convention was concluded, on 
the 29th of July, 1534, at Cadan, in Bohemia. The convention 
of Nuremberg was renewed and confirmed, and the Protestants 
acknowledged Ferdinand as king of the Romans. To save the 
honour of the emperor, the duke of Wirtemberg and the land- 
grave of Hesse were to demand pardon on their knees ; but the 
duke was allowed to retain possession of his territories on the 
condition that the duchy should become a mesne fief of the house 
of Austria, and that he should tolerate all religious opinions. 
John Frederic, the new elector of Saxony, who had recently 
succeeded his father, John the Constant, and was, like him, at- 
tached to the Protestant doctrines, was to receive the investi- 
ture of his dominions ; and all processes in the imperial cham- 
ber, against the Protestants, were to be again suspended. Both 
parties agreed to exclude from the benefit of this treaty the Sa- 
cramentarians, and all other sects who maintained tenets con- 
trary to the confession of Augsburgh and the Roman Catholic 
church. 

" Charles was anxious to support the Catholics from attach- 
ment to the religion of his ancestors, from his interests as king 
of Spain and sovereign of the Netherlands, and from his desire 
to recover his authority as emperor ; and for these reasons he 
was determined to exert his whole force in effecting the restor- 
ation of the Catholic cause. But duly appreciating the delicacy 
and difficulty of his situation, he prepared for the contest with 
his usual foresight, art, and sagacity. Sensible that violent mea- 
sures would only unite the Protestants and alienate the most 
moderate of the Catholics, he endeavoured to adopt such a line 
of conduct, that to the Protestants he should appear only to 
prosecute a civil contest, and to the Catholics, to vindicate the 
honour of the church and of the empire, and compel refractory 
schismatics to submit their objections to the impartial decisions 
of a general council. He pursued this plan with unabated per- 
severance, notwithstanding all the clamours of the zealous Ca- 
tholics, and all the remonstrances, reproaches, and intrigues of 
the new pontiff, Paul III., who reprobated the slightest degree 
of toleration, and was averse to the interference of a lay prince 
in ecclesiastical affairs. 

" From the edict of Worms to the private act of toleration at 
the diet at Ratisbon, Charles had either granted or withheld 
liberty of conscience, as he was in friendship or at enmity with 



62 

the pope and the Turks ; yet he never abandoned his design of 
compelling the Lutherans to return to the church, and consid- 
ered his occasional concessions only as temporary expedients 
which he was justified in resuming. With these views he con- 
cluded the peace of Crespy with Francis, on the 1 8th of Sep- 
tember, 1544; and introduced into the treaty a secret article, 
binding the French monarch to assist in crushing the Lutheran 
heresy, and in enforcing the decree of the council which was 
about to be summoned; and he was, in 1506, relieved from all 
other foreign embarrassments, by the conclusion of a truce for 
five years, between his brother, as king of Hungary, and Soly- 
man the Magnificent, sultan of the Turks." 

It is not necessary to state here the events of this well known 
war, every turn of which shows that the worst qualities of the 
house of Hapsburgh were concentrated in Charles and made 
effective by his military and diplomatic talents. In 1555 the 
war was concluded by " the religious peace of Passau," presided 
over by Ferdinand, who was interested to conciliate the Protest- 
ant powers, that he might obtain assistance against the Turks. 
From all this portion of history we may see that if the house of 
Austria did not suppress the Reformation, it was through no 
scruples of respect for the rights of conscience. 

Before speaking of the destruction of Italy, for it was nothing 
less, by Charles VI., and his destruction of the constitution of 
Spain, we will turn to consider that of Ferdinand in the East of 
Europe. 

After having obtained from Charles the cession of Austria, and 
suppressed a rebellion there by the execution of its leaders, his 
marriage with Anne, princess of Bohemia and Hungary, paved 
the way for his final triumphs over those countries. The mar- 
riage of Louis of Hungary with his sister also gave colour to 
claims on that country which in the course of time he made 
good. For he claimed the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia 
on the death of Louis, who fell in a war with Solyman the Mag- 
nificent, when, having in vain appealed to the pope, the empe- 
ror and the German states for aid, that unfortunate monarch un- 
dertook to meet at Mohatz an army of 200,000 with 30,000 
men. Ferdinand presumed on " a double title : the one derived 
from family compacts, which secured the reversion to the house 
of Austria, in failure of male issue to the reigning family ; and 
the other in right of his wife Anna, the only sister of the de- 



63 

ceased monarch. But the natives of Hungary and Bohemia 
were too much attached to their rights of election to respect 
these compacts, or even to acknowledge his claims as husband 
of the princess ; and Ferdinand, prudently waving his preten- 
sions, offered himself as a candidate according to the usual 
mode of election. Being only opposed in Bohemia by Albert, 
duke of Bavaria, he was, on the 26th of October, 1526, elected 
by a committee of twenty persons, who were appointed by the 
states to choose a king. 

" The new sovereign, in his letters of thanks to the states, pro- 
mised to ratify all their rights and privileges, to observe the 
religious compacts, to raise no foreigners to any office of state, 
to coin good money, to govern the kingdom according to an- 
cient customs and laws, and to reside at Prague. He also 
acknowledged, by public act, his election to the monarchy, as 
the free choice of the barons, nobles, and states of Bohemia, 
and disowned all other rights and pretensions. He soon after- 
wards repaired to Iglau, where he took the usual oaths ; and, 
continuing his journey to the capital, was crowned with his 
wife Anne in the cathedral, on the 4th of February, 1527. 

"After taking possession of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia, at 
that time dependencies on Bohemia, he proceeded to Hungary, 
where the succession to the crown was contested by a more 
powerful rival than the duke of Bavaria. 

" John of Zapoli, count of Zips, and waivode of Transylvania, 
being at the head of 40,000 men, whom he had led into the 
field to join his sovereign before the battle of Mohatz, offered 
himself as a candidate for the crown ; and having convened the 
states at Tokay, was chosen by a large party of the nobles, 
who were averse to the rule of a foreigner. In November, 
1526, he was crowned at Alba Regia with the sacred diadem 
of St. Stephen, by the Archbishop of Gran, and took up his 
residence at Buda, the capital of the kingdom, which had been 
recently evacuated by the Turks. 

" On the other hand, Mary, the widow of the deceased mon- 
arch, and sister of Ferdinand, summoned, in conjunction with 
the palatine, a diet at Presburgh ; and a party of the nobles, 
after declaring the election of John illegal, because the assem- 
bly at Tokay was not regularly convoked by the palatine, rais- 
ed Ferdinand to the throne. The new sovereign supported his 
election by marching to Presburgh with a powerful army of 



64 

Germans and Bohemians, was joyfully received by his party, 
took an oath to confirm the rights and privileges of the nation, 
and proceeded, without delay, towards Buda. Raab, Commorn, 
Gran, and Alba Regia surrendered without opposition ; John 
retired from the capital, and Ferdinand made his triumphant 
entry. A numerous meeting of the states, assembled in a new 
diet, confirmed the proceedings at Presburgh, declared Ferdi- 
nand king, and proclaimed John and his adherents enemies of 
their country if they did not, within twenty-six days, desist 
from their contumacy. Ferdinand gained many of the nobles 
by favours and promises; his troops defeated those of his rival 
in various encounters ; and John himself was compelled to take 
refuge in Poland, under the protection of Sigismond I., who 
had married his sister. 

" Ferdinand was accordingly crowned by the archbishop of 
Gran, whom he had detached from the party of John ; and after 
obtaining the ban of the diet against his rival, and appointing 
a council of regency during his absence, quitted Hungary in full 
possession of the whole kingdom." 

But before going on with Ferdinand's transactions in Hun- 
gary, which we defer to the end of the book, we shall hear Coxe 
relate his destruction of the constitutional rights of Bohemia, in 
the XXXIVth chapter of his history. 

" We have already seen that Bohemia was an elective mon- 
archy. 

" On his accession to the throne, the king was always con- 
strained to acknowledge the right of election, and all the privi- 
leges of his subjects, and promise to govern according to the 
ancient constitution and statutes, particularly those of the Em- 
peror Charles IV. The power of the crown was extremely li- 
mited, as well by the privileges of the different orders, as by 
the authority of the diet, without which he could not impose 
taxes, raise troops, make war or peace, coin money, or institute 
and abrogate laws. 

"The diet, which shared with the king the executive and 
legislative authorities, consisted of the three estates of the realm; 
the barons, the knights or equestrian order, and deputies from 
certain privileged cities. By the laws the king alone possessed 
the right of convocation, but in turbulent times the states fre- 
quently assembled at the instigation of the principal barons, or 
by a common impulse in which the capital bore a considerable % 



65 

share. The number of members, instead of being uniform, de- 
pended on the exigency of the moment, or the importance of 
affairs, sometimes consisting only of a few, and at others form- 
ing a turbulent and heterogeneous assemblage of several hun- 
dred. 

" Besides all these restrictions which had more or less con- 
trolled the preceding sovereigns, there were others arising from 
religious affairs, which particularly shocked the prejudices and 
thwarted the views of Ferdinand. 

" From the accession of George Podiebrad, the equipoise 
established between the Catholics and Calixtins produced con- 
tinual struggles and confusion, until his successor Ladislaus, in a 
diet holden at Kuttenberg, in 1485, procured the conclusion of 
a religious peace for thirty-three years, by which the Catholics 
and Calixtins agreed to abstain from mutual persecution ; the 
priests were allowed to preach freely the word of God ; and 
the compacts approved by the council of Basle, which had been 
revoked by the popes, were to be restored and maintained. 
These wise regulations suppressed the public dissensions ; but 
the new opinions of Luther spreading from the contiguous parts 
of Saxony, found a ready reception among a people habituated 
to religious discussions, and divided into almost as many differ- 
ent sects as there were priests and preachers. The introduction 
of the reformed opinions exciting a new ferment induced the 
government, which administered the affairs of Bohemia during 
the reign of Louis, to prevent their diffusion by persecution and 
banishment. Many of the most remarkable Lutherans were 
driven from the kingdom ; but the majority taking refuge under 
the name of Calixtins, carried their own principles into that 
body, while their numbers increased its weight and influence. 
So great, indeed, was the preponderance of Lutheranism in 
that sect, that in a committee selected for the purpose of estab- 
lishing among themselves uniformity of opinion, they chose, as 
their chief or administrator, Howel Czahera, pastor of one of 
the churches of Prague, who had been educated at Wittemberg, 
and had distinguished himself in the propagation of the Lu- 
theran doctrines. 

"By this similarity of religious sentiments, a more powerful 
bond than the frail connections of policy or interest was formed 
between the Bohemians and Saxons. The reformers of Germany 
courted the sectaries of Bohemia as a body who, by weight and 



06 

numbers, gave an essential support to their cause ; while the 
sectaries of Bohemia favoured every new opinion and approved 
every innovation, which tended to depress the hierarchy and 
diminish the influence of the Roman see. 

"Such was the civil and religious state of Bohemia when 
Ferdinand ascended the throne. He did not attempt to in- 
fringe the privileges secured by the constitution to the Calixtins ; 
but, as in his other dominions, he laboured to check the pro- 
gress of the Reformation, and exercised the utmost rigour 
against those who disseminated religious opinions not tolerated 
by law ; in particular, he obtained from the diet of Budeweiss 
a decree of proscription against all sects, not tolerated by the 
compacts, and a sentence of banishment against the Calixtine 
administrator Czahera, who had distinguished himself for his 
zeal and turbulence. As the means of diminishing the influence 
of the capital, he removed several magistrates, and again se- 
parated the magistracy of the old and new towns, which had 
been united since the time of Ladislaus, and forbade all at- 
tempts for effecting their re-union under the penalty of high 
treason. 

" Notwithstanding these innovations, he obtained considera- 
ble support from the Bohemians during the Turkish war ; and 
a long absence for ten years, during which no remarkable event 
occurred, seems to have weakened the impression occasioned by 
such acts of authority. During this time he made a fruitless 
attempt to disarm the nobles by requiring their artillery, under 
the pretext of employing it against the Turks ; but having con- 
cluded the peace with Solyman, he ventured on more decisive 
innovations. He re-established the archi-episcopal see of 
Prague, and empowered the archbishop to consecrate the Calix- 
tine as well as Catholic priests ; and he excited the jealousy of 
the whole kingdom by formally revoking the reversal, by which 
he had acknowledged the right of election in the states, and de- 
claring himself hereditary sovereign, in virtue of his marriage 
with Anne, and of the exploded compacts between the Bohe- 
mian and Austrian princes. 

" This unpopular and glaring breach of faith could not fail 
to excite the highest indignation among a people so jealous of 
their privileges ; and the religious war in Germany brought on 
a crisis, which was equally dangerous to the sovereign and 
the subject, and occasioned the loss of that darling liberty for 



67 

which the Bohemians had so long sacrificed the blessings of 
peace and tranquillity. 

"When Charles had determined to reduce by force the 
league of Smalkalde, and to subdue the elector of Saxony and 
the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, Ferdinand raised a considerable 
number of troops in the Austrian dominions, and prepared to 
collect an army in Bohemia, to co-operate with his brother. 
But as he was well aware of the tendency of his Bohemian 
subjects to the Lutheran opinions, and knew that a compact of 
hereditary friendship and amity with the elector of Saxony, con- 
cluded at Egra in 1459, was still in force, he endeavoured to 
elude the privileges of the states, by entangling them with op- 
posite engagements, and involving them in the war before they 
could suspect or thwart his designs. He accordingly summon- 
ed a diet at Prague, on the 27th of July, 1546, and obtained 
their consent to raise a certain number of troops for the purpose 
of defending the country, or, if necessary, of marching against 
the Turks, or other enemies of the kingdom, according to the 
direction of the king, his governor, or the burgrave of Prague. 
As Maurice of Saxony was then at Prague, he also persuaded 
the states to renew with him the ancient compact between Bo- 
hemia and the house of Saxony, in order to counteract their 
engagements with the electoral branch. 

"During these transactions, he published, in the Bohemian 
tongue, the ban which the emperor had issued against the elec- 
tor of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse ; declared that, in con- 
sequence of this ban, all alliances with those princes were dis- 
solved ; and forbade, under pain of death, all his Bohemian 
subjects from supplying them with succours or provisions. 

"The troop >, however, who had been voted by the diet, and 
assembled at Kathen, rose into mutiny on receiving orders from 
their general, Wertmuhle, to make an irruption into the Voigt- 
land, a part of the electoral dominions. They clamorously 
tfrged, that by the vote of the diet, they were collected to de- 
fend the country, not to pass the frontiers ; they therefore re- 
fused to march against their ally, the elector of Saxony ; de- 
clared the war to be unjust, and expressed their reluctance to 
commit hostilities against their fellow Christians, who, as well 
as themselves, received the holy communion under both kinds. 
The greater part, however, being at length prevailed upon by 
emissaries from Ferdinand to obey their orders, they marched 



68 

into the Voigtland, laid waste the country, defeated the elector- 
al troops in two engagements, and after remaining in the field 
till the beginning of December, returned into Bohemia. At 
the close of the campaign, Ferdinand punished the disobedience 
of those troops who had refused to pass the frontiers ; he ar- 
rested the ringleaders, condemned them to death, and after ex- 
ecuting the most factious, pardoned the rest at the intercession 
of his queen. 

"At the commencement of the next year, he hastened to ma- 
ture his plan, and to liberate himself from the shackles imposed 
by the constitution, by an extraordinary act of authority, which 
none of his predecessors had ventured to exercise without the 
consent of the states. 

"In a mandate bearing date the 12th day of January, 1547, 
he declared, ' John Frederic, late elector of Saxony, is prepar- 
ing to invade Bohemia, and the territory of Maurice, duke of 
Saxony, and margrave of Misnia, and has with this view occu- 
pied the convent of Dobroluc, and two villages. The states of 
Lower Lusatia, as members of the crown of Bohemia, and prince 
Maurice, in virtue of the hereditary compact recently concluded 
at the diet of Prague, require succours. We, as king of Hun- 
gary, will bring into the field 14,000 men ; our brother, the 
emperor, has sent troops to our assistance, and the Lusatians, 
Silesians, and Moravians are in motion. The Bohemians must 
also send an army into the field. ' It then ordered certain levies 
of men to be raised according to the feudal tenures ; and to 
appear at Leutmeritz, with a month's provisions and pay. It 
concluded, ' Either we the king, or our son the archduke, will 
lead the army in person ; and all who do not obey these our 
commands, shall, according to the laws of the land, be deprived 
of their honours, lives, and property.' 

" This unprecedented act of authority excited general indig- 
nation, and the three towns of Prague were the foremost to re- 
sist its execution. When the deputies presented their remon- 
strance, Ferdinand indignantly replied, ' What we have com- 
manded is for your advantage, and ye are culpable in acting 
contrary to our orders. We declare that you are guilty of all 
the former and present misfortunes in this war. God will pun- 
ish your disobedience.' The deputies excusing themselves, by 
replying that they could not control the inclinations of the people, 
the king rejoined, ' We have told you our opinion, and we will 



69 

give you no other answer, since we have commanded nothing 
that is unjust. This is not the first time that you have been 
disobedient.' When the deputies presented a memorial, stating 
that the levy of troops ought to be approved by a general diet, 
he endeavoured to stimulate their pride by reproaches of dis- 
obedience and pusillanimity, and by recalling to their recollec- 
tion the heroic courage of their ancestors. He concluded by 
saying, 'We are determined to prosecute this warfare, whether 
you will go with us or not. If you accompany us, you do us 
a favour, and w r e shall be inclined to treat you with kindness ; 
but, if you persist in your disobedience, you are alone accoun- 
table for all the misfortunes which may overwhelm you.' These 
reproaches, being attended with no effect, Ferdinand quitted 
the city, full of indignation, and repaired to Leutmeritz. Here 
he found a numerous assembly of nobles, knights, and deputies 
of the towns who formed the states of that province which he 
had convoked. But from them he was assailed with the same 
remonstrances as had been made by the burghers of Prague. 
When the proposal for raising troops was laid before the meet- 
ing, they requested him to convoke a general diet, which could 
alone authorise the levy, and promised to support the proposi- 
tion, if made according to custom and law ; and they declared 
that the mandate of the 12th of January was contrary to their 
privileges and liberties. This remonstrance, conveyed in mild 
but firm expressions, convinced the king that it was necessary 
to have recourse to soothing measures. Having summoned the 
principal deputies into his presence, he condescended to inform 
them that the danger was too pressing to admit of delay, or to 
allow time for the convocation of a diet. He had promised 
assistance, he said, to Maurice of Saxony, who was encamped 
within only four miles of the enemy ; he had already begun 
his march, and could not retreat without forfeiting his honour. 
He therefore entreated them not to forsake him, or compel him 
to disgrace himself by a breach of his promise. He engaged 
to recall the mandate of the 12th of January, and offered to 
give full security that no violation of their privileges should in 
future result from this step, and to declare that they took the 
field not from obligation, but from compliance with the request 
of their sovereign. The assembly, overcome by these profes- 
sions, fulfilled his wishes as far as was consistent with the laws 
of their country. They gave to every baron, knight, and burgh- 



70 

er, liberty to follow, or not to follow the king to the field, freely 
and uncompelled, not for the purpose of succouring prince Mau- 
rice, not in obedience to the mandate of the 12th of January, 
nor in virtue of the recent compact with Maurice, but solely to 
defend the person of the king, and to protect him from danger. 
They also promised to persuade the other states of the kingdom 
to follow their example; and Ferdinand, after tendering his 
acknowledgments for these resolutions, continued his march to 
Dresden. 

"During these transactions, the capital was the scene of 
tumult and alarm. The Calixtine members of nine circles, as 
well nobles and knights as deputies from the towns, nocking to 
Prague, united themselves with the citizens in a solemn con- 
federacy, to defend those rights and privileges, ancient laws 
and customs, which had been granted by their sovereigns, and 
recently confirmed by Ferdinand. They also signed a memo- 
rial to the king, in which they earnestly requested him to con- 
voke a diet at Prague, for the purpose of laying before all the 
states the affair of the levies ; and they concluded by observing, 
that if he did not himself summon the diet, the states would 
of their own authority assemble on that day, and deliberate on 
the business. 

" To their memorial the king made the same reply as to the 
states assembled at Leutmeritz; he promised to hold a diet in 
person at Prague, eight days after Easter ; forbade them in the 
interim to assemble, and at the same time issued his summons 
to all the circles and towns. 

'■ This measure might have pacified the states, had not the 
elector of Saxony gained a considerable advantage over the 
margrave of Brandenburgh, who was marching to the assist- 
ance of prince Maurice. The victory encouraged the Bohemians 
to persist in their opposition, while it filled Ferdinand with new 
apprehensions. He instantly despatched general Wertmuhle 
to Commotau, and ordered all the states of the kingdom to send 
troops under his command, and to supply with provisions the 
army of the emperor, who was advancing to Egra to protect Bo- 
hemia, and succour prince Maurice. But this mandate was not 
obeyed ; the states, which had assembled at Prague, declared 
the summons of the king and Wertmuhle illegal, and expres- 
sed their resolution to maintain the hereditary compact with the 
elector of Saxony ; they dispersed a printed letter through all 



71 

the circles, exhorting the nobles, knights, and towns, to join in 
their confederacy, and declared that those who did not present 
themselves before Easter should not be admitted. 'As numerous 
bodies of men were collecting in the neighbouring countries,' 
they gave directions for assembling an army to defend Bohe- 
mia, their native land, from all foreign attacks ; to protect their 
wives and children, property and vassals, from the hand of 
violence, and to support each other against all aggressors. They 
even imposed a tax on all property for the maintenance of the 
national army, appointed a commander-in-chief, and made ar- 
rangements according to ancient custom. In case of extreme 
necessity, they summoned all who were capable of bearing arms 
into the field, and denounced confiscation of property and ban- 
ishment against all who should refuse to serve. They moreover 
named a committee consisting of four nobles, four knights, and 
the magistrates of Prague, to act as delegates, with full powers, 
in the name of the three estates. 

" Notice being brought that prince Maurice and his brother 
Augustus of Saxony had marched with more than 7000 troops 
to Brix, they issued instant orders throughout all the circles, to 
assemble levies for the purpose of resisting this invasion. They 
sent a remonstrance to the king, in which they expressed their 
surprise that foreign troops had entered Bohemia without the 
knowledge and approbation of the states, and with an implied 
threat of resistance, they exhorted him to induce the two dukes 
of Saxony to return. They also despatched messengers to the 
states of Moravia and Lusatia, announcing their common dan- 
ger, and requesting succours. 

" Ferdinand, in reply to these remonstrances, informed them 
that he was arrived at Brix, and in company with the two dukes 
of Saxony, was marching through Bohemia, to join the army of 
the emperor. His object, he declared, was to protect the king- 
dom against the elector of Saxony, who had been put under the 
ban of the empire, and who had not only occupied Joachims- 
thal and Presnitz, but had extorted an oath from the inhabi- 
tants to arm in his defence. The irruption of the emperor, 
with 20,000 Spanish veterans, into the province of Egra, ex- 
cited general indignation and alarm ; and the committee cir- 
culated their mandates, ordering all persons to repair to Prague 
for the purpose of marching against the enemy, while the burgh- 



72 

ers of the capital flocked in crowds to offer their personal ser- 
vices. 

"Ferdinand, informed of these movements, testified his sur- 
prise and dissatisfaction- that troops should be levied when no 
enemy was at hand, and when he himself was marching to join 
the emperor at Egra. He promised to prevail on the emperor 
not to pass through the kingdom, assured the states that he had 
no inclination to infringe their liberties, and again exhorted 
them to lay down their arms, and to wait in tranquillity his arri- 
val at Prague. These representations from a sovereign who 
had excited the jealousy of his subjects by his innovations, were 
attended with no effect ; the delegates justified their proceed- 
ings, and declared that they had taken up arms because the 
states had certain information of a design to overturn the con- 
stitution, destroy the kingdom, and extirpate the language of 
Bohemia. And, as the king and the chief burgrave to whom 
the defence of the crown belonged, were absent, they were com- 
pelled for their own security to levy an army, and appoint a 
commander, not to act against the king, but for the purpose of 
protecting his daughter, the archduchess, who was consigned to 
their care, and to secure their country from the invasion of for- 
eign troops. They could not, they observed, revoke the sum- 
mons, and prevent the levies; they therefore entreated his 
majesty to divert the emperor from the effusion of Christian 
blood, and to return to the capital without delay. At the same 
tune the delegates assured the elector of Saxony of their fixed 
resolution to maintain and renew the ancient compact, sum- 
moned the states to come forward in defence of the crown, of 
their liberties, and native tongue ; and earnestly exhorted them 
to remain true to the electoral house of Saxony, since the hered- 
itary compact was a principal prerogative of the crown, and a 
rock of defence to the subjects. To the emperor, who remon- 
strated against their taking up arms, they replied they did not 
rise against him or their king, but in defence of their privileges, 
and in support of their ancient alliances. They exhorted him, 
as the head of Christendom, to spare the effusion of Christian 
blood, to be reconciled to the elector, and lead his own forces, 
with those of the Christian world, against the Turks, the invet- 
erate enemies of the Christian faith. 

" In the midst of these transactions the diet assembled at 
Prague, and the importance of the occasion drew such numbers 



73 

of deputies, that they overflowed the place of assembly, and 
crowded in the square before the palace. The hereditary com- 
pact between George Podiebrad and the elector of Saxony was 
read, and the public discontents were inflamed by the com- 
plaints of several officers, that the king had threatened to pun- 
ish them with death if they refused to pass the frontiers. 

"Two days afterwards, the royal commissaries being introduced, 
required the states in the king's name to dismiss their troops, 
and dissolve their confederacy. These commands were enforced 
by an embassy from the emperor, who exhorted the states to 
lay down their arms, and pay due obedience to their lawful 
sovereign. 

" Instead, however, of paying attention to these representa- 
tions, the states drew up an apology for their conduct, and ap- 
pointed ambassadors to the king and the emperor, who were 
commissioned to represent that the state of Bohemia had been, 
from time immemorial, accustomed for the sake of peace and 
unanimity, to contract confederacies with each other, of which 
the documents had been recently destroyed by fire. In regard 
to the levy of forces, their forefathers, they said, had always 
raised troops whenever a foreign army approached the fron- 
tiers, and they themselves had only acted in conformity with 
this ancient custom without the least intention of injuring the 
emperor or the king, their sovereign. They concluded by ob- 
serving, that as the states had prorogued their meeting till the 
ensuing Whitsuntide, they hoped the ambassadors would, in 
the interim, obtain the king's approbation, and induce him to 
mediate a peace between the emperor and the elector of Saxony, 
and then to lead an army against the Turks. 

" Before the departure of the ambassadors, a messenger from 
Ferdinand announced the total defeat and capture of the elector 
of Saxony at Muhlberg ; and, to discourage the states, the in- 
telligence was publicly read before the diet. On this occasion, 
this numerous assembly evinced all the versatility of a popular 
body, easily roused, and as suddenly depressed. Those very 
men, who, with the hope of foreign assistance, had displayed 
such resolution to assert their liberties, the descendants of those 
who under Ziska had singly resisted or deposed their sovereigns, 
and spread terror throughout Germany, no sooner saw them- 
selves deprived of foreign support, than they sank into a ser- 
vility and despondency as degrading as their former presump- 



74 

tion and petulance were imprudent. Many of the members 
hastened from Prague, others who had unwillingly united in 
the confederacy, rejoiced, and all affected to join the royalists 
in their eager demonstrations of loyalty. The states congra- 
tulated the king on the victory, and represented, that as the 
war was now concluded, and as they fully confided in his gra- 
cious promise not to introduce foreign troops into Bohemia, they 
were willing to dismiss their levies, and permit the free trans- 
port of provisions to the imperial army. On the following day 
orders were issued to their commander-in-chief to disband their 
forces. 

" Ferdinand made no other reply to these tardy offers of sub- 
mission than threats and reproaches ; and without a moment's 
delay prepared to avail himself of the advantages which he pos- 
sessed over his humiliated subjects. He took his departure from 
Wittemberg with a considerable body of troops and heavy ar- 
tillery, and on the 3rd of June reached Leutmeritz, where he 
received the submission of the inhabitants. Here he issued a 
circular letter to the towns of Prague and the provincial states, 
in which he reproached them for their recent misconduct, com- 
manded them to renounce their confederacy, summoned those 
who were well affected to repair to Leutmeritz, under the pro- 
mise of pardon, and threatened those with punishment who per- 
sisted in their contumacy. 

" In consequence of these letters, nobles, knights, and depu- 
ties flocked in great numbers to Leutmeritz. The citizens of 
Prague alone gave symptoms of their former resolution ; they 
proposed to occupy the castle, and fortify the White Mountain ; 
and were not, without much difficulty, prevailed upon to re- 
nounce their fruitless opposition, and to dispatch their deputies. 
The states assembled at Leutmeritz, presented to the king a 
memorial, in which they declared that their only object in join- 
ing the confederacy was to promote the advantage of their 
country, and protect the prerogatives of the crown ; and they 
promised that they would the next day erase their signatures, 
tear off their seals, and defend their king against all his enemies 
with their lives and fortunes. The king thanked them for this 
proof of returning loyalty, and granted them his pardon, but 
reserved his severest vengeance against the contumacious citi- 
zens of Prague. He refused to admit their deputies into his 
presence ; he announced his intention to give an answer in per- 



75 

son, on the Sunday following, in the palace ; he commanded 
the magistrates to prepare quarters for his troops, and, before 
the departure of the deputies, despatched a corps of Germans, 
who, entering Prague by night, anticipated the design of the 
citizens by occupying the castle. 

" On the 2d of July, Ferdinand himself made his public entry, 
at the head of a numerous army. His troops occupied the 
gates and the bridge, quartered themselves in different parts 
of the city, and encamped on the banks of the Moldau. But 
even his own presence, and the awe inspired by so great a force, 
could not repress the indignation of the citizens. A wanton 
insult of the Germans, who fired on the burghers of the old 
town, and the sacking of a neighbouring village by the hussars, 
provoked the populace into a tumult, which nearly occasioned 
the renewal of the civil war. The burghers dislodged the royal 
troops from the bridge, and drew cannon to the banks of the 
Moldau to batter the castle where the king resided ; they even 
prepared to renew the national confederacy, and sent letters to 
their adherents in the different circles, exhorting them to fur- 
nish speedy and effectual succours. But the revival of a con- 
test which would have deluged the kingdom in blood, was pre- 
vented by the intervention of those leaders who were inclined 
to more moderate measures, and by the policy and affected 
mildness of "the king, who disavowed the perpetrators of the 
outrages, and promised redress. 

" The whole conduct of Ferdinand was calculated to increase 
the terror of the inhabitants ; he prohibited the usual demon- 
strations of joy paid to the sovereign on his arrival, and forbade 
the magistrates to approach his person. On the 3rd, he sum- 
moned to the palace, the mayor, burgomasters, magistrates, 
councillors, jurors, elders, and two hundred and forty of the 
most distinguished citizens of the three towns. On the day 
appointed, these persons, amounting to more than six hundred, 
repaired to the palace, and had no sooner entered than the 
gates were closed and guarded. The king being thus master 
of the principal members of the three towns, and those who 
by their talents or influence might have roused the people to 
a desperate resistance, was enabled to impose his own terms. 
To impress them with additional terror, he appeared in all the 
parade of majesty, and with all the pomp of justice. He was 
habited in his royal robes, and seated on a lofty throne ; beneath 



76 

him was his second son the archduke Ferdinand ; and he was 
surrounded by the magnates of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia, 
who bore the highest offices of state, the duke of Teschen, the 
bishops of Olmutz and Troppau ; the count of Lobcowitz stood 
before him with a drawn sword. Silence being proclaimed, 
numerous charges against the prisoners were read, after which 
the king expatiated on their rebellious proceedings, and com- 
manded them to give an answer to each article of accusation. 

" Unable to justify themselves against the abrupt and heavy 
charge, Sixtus of Ottersdorf, secretary of the old town, humbly 
replied, in the name of all, that they would not presume to 
enter into any defence of their conduct with their king and 
master ; but submitted themselves to his royal mercy, beseech- 
ing the intercession of the nobles, bishops, and counsellors, 
who were present; and the whole body falling on their knees, 
entreated pardon for their disobedience. They were suffered 
to continue for some time in this posture, and at length com- 
manded by one of the officers of state to retire into the hall 
of justice, and therein remain imprisoned until the king had 
taken the advice of his judges. They retired, and, after several 
hours of suspense and agitation, the same officer of state in- 
formed them that the king, at the intercession of the archduke, 
princes, and lords, and of his own natural clemency, graciously 
pardoned their offences under certain conditions. They were 
to renounce their confederacy with the other states, and at the 
next diet to break their seals, erase their signatures, and to de- 
liver up their letters and writings relating to their confederacy ; 
to surrender without exception all the acts of their privileges 
and immunities, and to be satisfied with whatever the king 
should ordain or graciously restore ; to bring all their artillery 
and ammunition to the palace, and the burghers their muskets, 
and all other arms except swords to the town house ; to resign 
all their vassals and property to the king, and to his heirs the 
sovereigns of Bohemia ; to cede all the tolls of the three towns, 
and to bind themselves to pay his majesty and his successors for 
ever a certain tax on beer and malt. They were informed, that 
if they would agree to these conditions, the king would pardon 
the whole people, and would punish none except a few persons 
who had behaved disrespectfully, and whom he had determined 
to chastise for the sake of justice and the welfare of the king- 
dom. 



77 

" On the recital of these hard terms, the prisoners required a 
short interval to obtain the consent of their fellow burghers. 
But it was too dangerous and too critical a moment for Ferdi- 
nand to permit the terror which he had impressed on their 
minds to subside, or allow men driven to despair, an opportu- 
nity of rousing the people by a public discussion of these rigorous 
articles. He therefore sternly rejected their request, and extorted 
from them an immediate ratification. Several of the least dan- 
gerous were then deputed to conciliate the burghers, and the 
remainder closely guarded in the apartments and vaults of the 
palace. 

" On the following morning some of the prisoners were res- 
tored to liberty, on the condition of not retiring from Prague, 
and others released in the ensuing days. At length the re- 
mainder were all liberated, except forty of the most tumultuous 
and most dangerous, who were reserved as objects of public 
punishment. 

" During this period, Ferdinand had sent a similar summons to 
all the towns of the kingdom, except the loyal towns of Pilsen, 
Budweiss, and Aussig. The chief burgomasters, counsellors, and 
elders were compelled to repair to the palace, and, like those of 
Prague, were imprisoned until they had surrendered all their 
estates, tolls, revenues, and privileges, and paid considerable pen- 
alties. But so rigorous was the confinement experienced by these 
unfortunate victims, and so deeply were their minds affected by 
the terrors of their situation, that many died, and others became 
frantic. Many of the nobles were also summoned before a court 
of justice to be tried for the crimes of which they were accused. 
Some flying from the terrors of such a tribunal, their goods 
were confiscated, and they were condemned to death ; others 
appearing and surrendering themselves, twenty-six were select- 
ed and imprisoned ; of these some were deprived of their pos- 
sessions, others were compelled to pay heavy fines and to hold 
their estates as fiefs from the king ; and two only were sentenced 
to public execution. 

"As a close to these proceedings, a diet was summoned by 
the king, to meet at the palace of Prague on the 2 2d of Au- 
gust, 1547, and was attended by a numerous assembly, as all 
were now eager to give proofs of their loyalty. With a view 
to strike additional terror, Ferdinand opened the diet with the 



is 

execution of four of his principal prisoners, two of whom were 
knights, and the others of the third estate, of whom one Jacob 
Fikar, high judge of the kingdom, and burgrave of the old 
town, was in the seventieth year of his age. 

"At the close of this tragedy, the assembly, which, from these 
executions, was stigmatised with the name of the Bloody Diet, 
was opened, and the king experienced the fullest submission to 
his decrees. The burgrave, or president, declared in the name 
of the lords and knights, that they had entered into the con- 
federacy with no other view than to maintain peace and union 
in the kingdom ; and as it was the pleasure of their sovereign 
that the confederacy should be dissolved, they were ready to 
obey his commands. Instantly a committee of nobles tore the 
seals from the acts of the confederacy, which contained the sig- 
natures of one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six lords and 
knights, besides those of the towns. The high chancellor then 
declared, in the king's name, to the deputies of the towns, that 
on account of their disobedience they deserved to be deprived 
of their seat at the diet, but, as a particular mark of favour, 
they were allowed to retain that right. All their privileges 
Avere to be examined, and those only restored which the king 
thought proper to confirm. The artillery, arms, and ammuni- 
tion, which had been delivered up, were sent in thirty wagons 
to Vienna, and an additional fine was laid on the corporation 
of Prague. 

" The forty prisoners who still remained in confinement were 
now brought from their dungeons. Eight were publicly whip- 
ped in each of the three towns; and, before each flagellation, the 
executioner proclaimed, ' These men are punished because they 
were traitors, and because they excited the people against their 
hereditary master,' a title which Ferdinand now thought proper 
to assume. These eight, with a similar number, were banished, 
and the remaining four-and-twenty, after paying heavy fines, 
were restored to liberty. 

"Having thus restored tranquillity and suppressed almost all 
seeds of future insurrections, Ferdinand introduced various regu- 
lations, which were calculated to strengthen his authority. 
He appointed in each town a court judge, who was to assist in- 
all public meetings, and to take care that the royal authority 
received no detriment ; and, as he attributed the opposition 
made to his designs to the influence of the Lutheran doctrines, 



Id 

he used every means to prevent their diffusion. He according- 
ly, in 1556, established in Bohemia the order of Jesuits, which 
he had introduced into his Austrian territories, and encour- 
aged them to undertake the care of public education, which 
was the great instrument of their power. He appointed a com- 
mittee for the revision and censure of all publications, and 
forbade the importation of all foreign works without their con- 
sent. 

" Finally, he changed Bohemia from an elective to an here- 
ditary monarchy ; he obtained the consent of the diet that his 
son Maximilian should be declared his successor, and in 1562 
the prince was crowned as eldest son and heir to his father. By 
these measures, Ferdinand greatly extended the regal preroga- 
tive, and abolished the evils arising from elective monarchy ; 
he also restored tranquillity, and suppressed the factions of a 
volatile and turbulent people ; yet he, at the same time, depres- 
sed that energy of mind and military ardour which are inse- 
parable from a free government and^ are fostered by civil con- 
tests, and checked that active commercial spirit which flourishes 
in the consciousness of independence. From this cause the 
towns, which had hitherto been remarkable for their commerce, 
wealth, and population, exhibited under his reign the first symp- 
toms of decline, and the Bohemians began to lose that military 
fame which had rendered them the example and the terror of 
Europe." 

Thus was Bohemia subdued in 1547. But in the reign of 
Ferdinand II., seventy-two years after, at the beginning of the 
Thirty Years' War, there was a second conquest of this unhappy 
country, by the Austrian power, which seems still more atro- 
cious, inasmuch as then the Bohemians did not fail in heart, 
but were overpowered when exerting themselves to the utmost. 
It seems to have been wholly owing, in fact, to the want of skill 
and energy of their elected king, Frederic, Count Palatine, 
that they sustained a defeat at "White Mountain, two years after 
the commencement of their movement, which was both for re- 
ligious and political freedom. We cannot here enter into the 
whole history of the rise of the Thirty Years' War, but must re- 
fer our readers to Coxe, Schiller, and others. It arose directly 
from the character of Ferdinand II., whose intolerance and in- 
veteracy were its occasion, if not its cause. Educated by Je- 
suits, " from their instructions he derived that inflexible bigotry 



80 

and intolerance, and that hostility to the Protestants, which, 
at this period, formed the great characteristics of their order. 
He frequently expressed a resolution to live with his family in 
banishment, to beg his bread from door to door, to submit to 
every insult and calamity, to lose even his life, rather than suffer 
the true church to be injured. "When he assumed the reins of 
government, he proved that these declarations wero not the 
effusions of idle enthusiasm. He refused to confirm the privi- 
leges which his father Charles had granted to his Protestant 
subjects, and sent his commissaries to eject their preachers from 
the archducal domains ; these commissaries being expelled, he 
collected troops to enforce the execution of his orders. In the 
interim he made a pilgrimage to Loretto, and bound himself 
by the most solemn vows, before the miraculous image, not to 
rest till he had extirpated all heresy in his dominions ; at Rome 
he was consecrated by the hands of Clement VIIL, and his re- 
solutions were strengthened by the exhortations of the pontiff. 

"Animated with a new spirit of intolerance, he returned in 
1598 to his dominions. The first act of his government was a 
new order for the banishment of all the Protestant preachers and 
schoolmasters, and, in opposition to the remonstrances of the 
states, he carried this rigorous measure into execution by force. 
He supplied the place of the Protestant seminaries, by found- 
ing two convents of Capuchins at Gratz and Brack, and colleges 
of Jesuits at Gratz, Laybach and Clagenfurth. Although two 
thirds of his subjects were Protestants, he ordered all who would 
not embrace the Catholic faith, to quit his dominions ; and sup- 
plied the places of those who preferred banishment to the deser- 
tion of their faith, by introducing numbers of Catholics from 
Wallachia and the neighbouring provinces. To complete the 
expulsion of heresy, his commissaries, accompanied by an es- 
cort, passed from town to town, and from village to village, 
restoring the ancient temples to the Catholics, and demolishing 
the new churches and schoolhouses, which had been erected 
by the Protestants. 

" The first symptoms of those troubles, which commenced in 
the Austrian territories and afterwards overspread all Europe, 
appeared in Bohemia. Ferdinand had not long received the 
crown before the Protestants perceived that the alarms derived 
from his principles and former conduct were not without foun- 
dation : for, from that moment, a new spirit seemed to animate 



81 

the counsels of the sovereign, and various acts of hostility to 
their doctrines evinced his baneful influence. Slavata and Mar- 
tinetz, the two nobles who had proved their zeal for the Catho- 
lic faith by refusing to sign the peace of religion, were intro- 
duced into the council of regency, honoured with an unusual 
degree of confidence, and displayed their attachment to their 
future sovereign by persecuting their Protestant vassals. The 
zealous Catholics followed the example, and exulted in the pros- 
pect of a change of government which was likely to restore 
their ascendency ; the Jesuits presumptuously proclaimed the 
new influence and favour which they had attained ; and one of 
the confidential ministers of Ferdinand himself did not scruple 
to point out the future objects of their vengeance, and to de- 
clare, that the restoration of tranquillity could only be effected 
by executions and confiscations, and by the revocation of the 
royal edict which had been extorted by force. These threats 
and rumours were aggravated by fear and religious antipathy ; 
and the Protestants looked forward to the commencement of the 
new reign as an era no less pregnant with horrors than the abo- 
minable massacre of St. Bartholomew. In the midst of this 
ferment the disclosure of the treaty with Spain contributed to 
add civil to religious grievances ; the illegal engagement for the 
eventual transfer of the crown to the Spanish branch, without 
even the knowledge of the states, alarmed a great part of the 
Catholics, who were no less tenacious of their elective rights 
than the Protestants of their religious privileges. In this situa- 
tion it was impossible to restrain so turbulent a people as the 
Bohemians, animated with all the fury of political and reli- 
gious animosity, and in count Thurn appeared another Ziska, 
who was capable of rousing, directing, and organising an insur- 
rection. 

"The impolicy and intolerance of the court soon furnished 
him with an opportunity to inflame a trivial discussion into open 
hostilities. It is a misfortune attending religious disputes in a 
peculiar degree, in which all parties act and reason on such 
discordant principles, that no public instrument can be worded 
in terms sufficiently clear and explicit to prevent all occasions of 
cavil. This was the case of the royal edict, [of Ferdinand's 
predecessor] which seems by the spirit to grant liberty of wor- 
ship with the privilege of constructing churches and schools only 
to the Calixtine or Protestant members of the states, whether 
4* 



82 

nobles, knights, or towns. But an explanatory clause in gene- 
ral terms, instead of rendering the meaning more specific, only 
made it more doubtful, and furnished the towns and vassals of 
ecclesiastics and lay Catholics with a pretext for claiming the 
same privilege. In consequence of this interpretation, the Pro- 
testant inhabitants of the town of Brunau and of Clostergra- 
ben, a village in the vicinity of Prague, began to erect churches 
and to perform divine service according to the Protestant ritual. 
The archbishop of Prague and the abbot of Brunau, to whom 
the respective places belonged, considering these acts as an in- 
fringement of their feudal rights, obtained a prohibition from 
the government. The Protestants, however, instead of obeying 
the order, were encouraged by the defenders of their religion 
to persevere ; and these and other prohibitions of the sovereign 
induced the Protestant states of Bohemia and its dependencies 
to enter into a formal confederacy for the security and defence 
of their rights and privileges. They followed this engagement 
by a petition for redress in the affair of Brunau and Clostergra- 
ben ; and at the same time renewed their compacts and treaties 
with some of the Protestant princes of Germany. 

"Encouraged by this confederacy, the Protestants proceeded 
with new vigour, and the churches were completed, notwith- 
standing Matthias himself expressed his disapprobation to count 
Thurn, and declared their conduct an infraction of the royal 
edict. But though he was disposed to connive at this disobe- 
dience, Ferdinand was not inclined to the same acquiescence, and 
soon after his coronation, an order, obtained by his influence, 
was issued by the court, commanding the surrender or demo- 
lition of the newly constructed churches. The archbishop in- 
stantly executed the order at Clostergraben ; but at Brunau 
the people opposed their abbot, and sent deputies to Matthias, 
requesting the revocation of his mandate. Instead, however, 
of obtaining redress, their deputies were arrested, and an im- 
perial commission despatched to shut up the church, and sup- 
press the Protestant worship in Brunau. 

" These acts, of which numerous precedents had been given in 
Germany and in the Austrian territories, might at any other 
time have produced a trifling dispute, which would have soon 
sunk into oblivion ; but amidst the general ferment, and in the 
powerful hands of count Thurn, they became the instrument 



83 

which excited an insurrection, and occasioned the Thirty Years' 
War." 

We omit the account of the ensuing hostilities, and of the 
process by which the Bohemians came to the point of making 
an effort to eject Ferdinand from the throne of their kingdom, 
just at the moment that he attained the imperial dignity. 

"A general diet of the states of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, 
and Lusatia assembled at Prague, soon after the departure of 
Ferdinand from Vienna. Having formed a confederacy for the 
maintenance of their civil and religious privileges, they were 
joined by the Protestants of Upper and Lower Austria, as well 
as by many of the discontented magnates of Hungary, and were 
encouraged by assurances of immediate support from Bethle- 
hem Gabor. They then proceeded to draw up a list of their 
grievances, in which they urged that the election of Ferdinand 
had been informal, that he had broken his coronation oath, by 
interfering in the government during the life of Matthias, had 
commenced the war by his own authority, and sent foreign 
troops to devastate their country ; finally, that he had infringed 
their right of election, by entering into engagements, without 
the consent of the states, to transfer the eventual succession of 
the crown to the Spanish princes, and thus to reduce them un- 
der a foreign, hateful, and despotic yoke. On these grounds 
they declared that Ferdinand had forfeited his dignity, and, in 
virtue of their supposed right of election, proceeded to nom- 
inate a new sovereign. 

" On this important article, they were, however, less unani- 
mous than on the point of exclusion. The Catholics being too 
weak and inconsiderable to take any essential share in the elec- 
tion, the remainder of the states were divided between the 
choice of a Lutheran or Calvinist sovereign. The Lutherans 
were the most numerous, the Calvinists the most active and 
artful, and supported by the Picards, or Bohemian brethren, a 
remnant of the ancient Hussites. The Calvinists suffered the 
Lutherans to offer the crown to the elector of Saxony, who, they 
were aware, would refuse the proffered dignity ; and he had no 
sooner declined it than they turned the choice of the states in 
favour of the elector Palatine, who was nominated with only 
six dissenting voices, two days before Ferdinand was raised to 
the imperial throne. To give an appearance of greater weight 
to the new election, the states of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia 



84 

were allowed to participate in the choice, a right before often 
claimed, but never admitted. 

"Although Frederic had anxiously laboured to secure this 
dignity, and had previously resolved to accept it, yet he had no 
sooner gained his object, than he hesitated to encounter the 
dangers with which the crown was surrounded. He sought 
advice and encouragement from those with whom he was con- 
nected by blood or interest. He was earnestly dissuaded by his 
mother, by the electors of Saxony and Brandenburgh, by the 
duke of Bavaria, and, above all, by his father-in-law, the king 
of England, who declared, that he would not patronise revolted 
subjects against their lawful sovereign, and would neither ac- 
knowledge his title nor afford him support. On the other hand, 
the wavering resolutions of Frederic were strengthened by his 
uncles, Maurice, prince of. Orange, and the duke of Bouillon, by 
his favourite counseller, Christian of Anhalt, by the majority of 
the Protestant league, and by Bethlehem Gabor, with whom he 
had entered into the closest connection." 

The closing catastrophe of the hostilities that immediately 
followed the election of Frederic, is all we have room to insert. 

" They took post on the White Mountain, as the last resource 
for the defence of the capital, and behind its ravines and decli- 
vities began to construct intrenchments, in order to defy the 
assaults of the enemy. The duke of Bavaria, however, did not 
allow them time to prepare for defence ; he resolved to drive 
them from their last refuge before they had recovered from the 
confusion of a retreat, and while his own troops were warm in 
the pursuit. He reached the vicinity of Prague on the morn- 
ing of the 8th of November, 1620, and ere noon had recon- 
noitred their position and commenced his attack. His troops 
overcame all obstacles ; the Hungarian cavalry was instantly 
defeated and dispersed : and although the Moravians, under the 
prince of Anhalt and the young count Thurn, balanced the for- 
tune of the day by their heroic resistance, the victory was deci- 
ded in favour of the imperialists within the short space of an 
hour. With the loss of only three hundred men, they took all 
the artillery, a hundred standards, left 4000 of the enemy dead 
on the field, and drove 1000 into the Moldau ; and thus, at 
one blow, dissipated the short-lived hopes of Frederic, and de- 
cided the fate of Bohemia. 



85 

" The citizens of Prague, deserted by their elected sovereign, 
had no other alternative than to submit themselves to the mercy 
of the emperor, and on the following day opened their gates 
to the conqueror. All the indulgence they could obtain was an 
exemption from plunder ; the states who were immediately con- 
vened, took an unconditional oath of allegiance, dissolved their 
confederacy, and surrendered their arms. These arrangements 
being completed, the duke of Bavaria delivered the reins of 
government to prince Charles of Lichtenstein, in obedience to 
the appointment of the emperor ; and after leaving a garrison 
in the town under the command of Tilly, returned triumphantly 
to Munich, laden with the spoils of the unfortunate kingdom. 

" Three months elapsed without the slightest act of severity 
against the insurgents of Bohemia. Many, lulled into security 
by this doubtful calm, emerged from their hiding places, and 
the greater part remained quiet at Prague, though secretly 
warned of their danger even by Tilly himself, who was no pat- 
tern of lenity or forbearance. But in an evil hour all the fury 
of the tempest burst upon their heads. Forty of the principal 
insurgents were arrested in the night of the 21st of January, 
1621, and after being imprisoned four months, and tried before 
an imperial committee of inquiry, twenty-three were publicly 
executed, their property confiscated, and the remainder either 
banished or condemned to perpetual imprisonment. A sentence 
of proscription and confiscation of goods was published against 
count Thurn, and twenty-seven of the other chiefs, who had fled 
from the country. Nor were these examples confined only to 
those who had been openly concerned in the rebellion ; for a 
mandate of more than inquisitorial severity was issued, com- 
manding all landholders who had participated in the insurrec- 
tion to confess their delinquencies, and threatening the severest 
vengeance if they were afterwards convicted. This dreadful 
order spread general consternation : not only those who had 
shared in the insurrection acknowledged their guilt, but even 
the innocent were driven by terror to self-accusation ; and above 
seven hundred nobles and knights, almost the whole body of 
landholders, placed their names on this list of proscription. By 
a mockery of the very name of mercy, the emperor granted to 
these unfortunate victims their lives and honours, which they 
were declared to have forfeited by their own confession ; but 
gratified his vengeance and rapacity by confiscating the whole 



86 

or part of their property, and thus reduced many of the most 
loyal and ancient families to ruin, or drove them to seek a re- 
fuge from their misfortunes in exile or death." * 

We might naturally suppose that this was the end of Bohe- 
mia; but "in the lowest deep a lower deep, still threatening to 
devour them, opened wide." 

Not ten years had elapsed before in a temporary truce of the 
Thirty Years' War, Ferdinand II. commenced a persecution of 
his Protestant subjects everywhere. 

"But it was in Bohemia, so long exposed to his antipathy as 
the seat of religious liberty, and where three-fourths of the na- 
tives were Protestants, that he acted with a rigour and cruelty 
which surpassed all the horrors of the inquisition itself. He 
commenced his persecutions by ejecting the preachers, school- 
masters, and professors, and delivering the churches to monks, 
whom he collected indiscriminately from all quarters of Europe. 
He then prohibited all persons who were not Catholics from 
exercising any trade or handicraft, laid the severest fines on 
those who preserved even in secret the slightest remnant of 
their former worship, declared Protestant marriages and bap- 
tisms null, wills made by Protestants invalid, and even drove 
the poor, the sick, and the distressed from the almshouses and 
hospitals. Then began a series of persecutions, from the recol- 
lection of which the mind recoils with horror. In the capital 
the Protestant burghers were expelled with their wives and 
children, and the poorer orders compelled to become Catholics. 
The other towns, and even the remotest villages, were visited 
by missionary deputations of Jesuits and Capuchin friars, ac- 
companied by a military force, and were abandoned to every 
species of monkish barbarity and military licentiousness. Those 
who were enabled to seek a refuge in exile were comparatively 
fortunate. The slightest degree of persecution inflicted on those 

* Pelzel, p. 731—742. Several native and Catholic writers endea- 
vour to extenuate the cruelty of Ferdinand, by declaring that he was 
with difficulty induced to make these dreadful examples ; and was over- 
borne by the representations of his ministers and the Jesuits. Admit- 
ting this fact, it is no exculpation of his conduct to assert that he 
acted unjustly by the advice of his ministers. But the preceding and 
subsequent transactions, as well as the general character, the relentless 
disposition, and the deep-rooted prejudices of Ferdinand, furnish ample 
evidence that he wanted no external impulse to commit acts of perse- 
cution and cruelty against the Protestants. 



81 

who remained was, to imprison the men, give up their houses 
to pillage, and expose their wives and children to all the out- 
rages of the soldiery. Some were massacred without mercy ; 
some hunted and driven like wild beasts to the woods and 
mountains, some dragged to processions and masses with every 
species of insult and cruelty, and those who ventured to oppose 
these enormities were racked and mutilated, or put to death 
with tortures too shocking for humanity to describe. 

" In the midst of these horrors Ferdinand himself repaired 
to Prague to nominate and crown his son as his successor. Af- 
ter affecting to display his clemency, by confirming to the states 
their power of taxation and other civil privileges, he abolished 
their right to elect a king, forbade the use of the Bohemian 
tongue in all public transactions, and set the seal to all the 
enormities which had been perpetrated under his authority, by 
abrogating the royal edict of toleration. He formally restored 
the order of the clergy to their rank in the states, from which 
they had been expelled during the Hussite wars ; finally, he 
consummated his vengeance against the Protestants, by declar- 
ing that he would tolerate no religion except the Catholic ; and 
he banished all those who within a specified time refused to 
return to the bosom of the church. By this act of persecution 
he drove 30,000 families, with all their servants and retainers, 
from the kingdom, including the most learned, the richest, and 
most industrious portion of the community, and thus inflicted 
on Bohemia a wound from which it has never recovered. 

" It is a tribute of justice to sound policy, as well as to hu- 
manity, to finish this picture by introducing the reflections of 
the native historian, who, being a Catholic and a subject of the 
house of Austria, cannot be suspected of exaggeration or par- 
tiality. ' The records of history scarcely furnish a similiar 
example of such a change as Bohemia underwent during the 
reign of Ferdinand II. In 1620, the monks, and a few of the 
nobility only excepted, the whole country was entirely Protes- 
tant ; at the death of Ferdinand it was, in appearance at least, 
Catholic. Till the battle of the White Mountain the states en- 
joyed more exclusive privileges than the parliament of England ; 
they enacted laws, imposed taxes, contracted alliances, declared 
war and peace, and chose or confirmed their kings ; but all 
these they now lost. Previous to that period the Bohemians 
were considered as a warlike nation, and had often won military 



88 

fame ; the annals of history recorded, ' The Bohemians took the 
field ; the Bohemians stormed the fortifications ; the Bohemians 
gained the victory ;' but they are now blended with other people, 
they are no longer distinguished as a nation in the field of 
battle, and no historian has consigned their posterity to glory. 
Till this fatal period the Bohemians were daring, undaunted, 
enterprising, emulous of fame ; now they have lost all their 
courage, their national pride, their enterprising spirit. They 
fled before the Swedes like sheep, or suffered themselves to be 
trampled under foot. Their courage lay buried on the White 
Mountain. Individuals still possessed personal valour, military 
ardour, and a thirst of glory, but, blended with other nations, 
they resembled the waters of the Moldau which join those of 
the Elbe. These united streams bear ships, overflow lands, and 
overturn rocks ; yet the Elbe only is mentioned, and the Moldau 
forgotten. The Bohemian language, which was used in all the 
courts of justice, and was in high estimation among the nobles, 
fell into contempt; the German was introduced, became the 
general language among the nobles and citizens, and was used 
by the monks in their sermons ; the inhabitants of the towns 
began to be ashamed of their native tongue, which was confin- 
ed to the villages, and called the language of peasants. The 
arts and sciences, so highly cultivated and esteemed under Ro- 
dolph, sank beyond recovery. During the period which im- 
mediately followed the banishment of the Protestants, Bohemia 
scarcely produced one man who became eminent in any branch 
of learning. The Caroline university was under the direction 
of the Jesuits, or suppressed ; by order of the pope all promo- 
tions were stopped, and no academical honours conferred. A 
few patriots, both among the clergy and laity, murmured openly, 
though ineffectually ; others sighed in secret over the downfall 
of literature. The greater part of the schools were conducted 
by Jesuits and other monkish orders, and nothing taught therein 
but bad Latin. It cannot be denied, that several of the Jesuits 
were men of great learning and science ; but their system 
was, to keep the people in ignorance ; agreeably to this prin- 
ciple, they gave their scholars only the rind, and kept to them- 
selves the pulp of literature. With this view they travelled 
from town to town as missionaries, and went from house to 
house, examining all books, which the landlord was compel-^ 
led, under pain of eternal damnation, to produce. The greater 1 



89 

part they confiscated and burnt, so that a Bohemian and a rare 
book are synonymous terms. They thus endeavoured to ex- 
tinguish the ancient literature of the country, laboured to per- 
suade the students that, before the introduction of their order 
into Bohemia, nothing but ignorance prevailed, and carefully 
concealed the learned labours, and even the names of our an- 
cestors. Such was their despotism, that the collections and 
writings of the patriotic Balbinus, on the literature of the an- 
cient Bohemians, could not be published till after the extinction 
of their order. In a word, from this period the history of Bo- 
hemia ceases, and the history of every nation in Bohemia be- 
gins." 

We must content ourselves with giving only so much of the 
atrocities of the Thirty Years' War. Nothing less than a detail 
of all its events would truly fill out the programme suggested 
by the title of our little book. It was in this war that was first 
invented the terrible system of provisioning an army at the ex- 
pense of the country invaded or defended, which was acted out 
so terrifically by Tilly and Wallenstein, and served to increase 
a hundredfold all the former horrors of war. 

The picturesque pages of Schiller can be consulted for these 
details. We extract only his account of the sack of Magde- 
burg. 

" Two gates were now opened by the storming party for the 
main body, and Tilly marched in with part of his infantry. 
Immediately occupying the principal streets, he drove the citi- 
zens with pointed cannon into their dwellings, there to await 
their destiny. They were not long held in suspense ; a word 
from Tilly decided the fate of Magdeburg. 

"Even a more humane general would in vain have recom- 
mended mercy to such soldiers ; but Tilly never made the at- 
tempt. Left by their general's silence masters of the lives of all 
the citizens, the soldiery broke into the houses to satiate their 
most brutal appetites. The prayers of innocence excited some 
compassion in the hearts of the Germans, but none in the rude 
breasts of Pappenheim's Walloons. Scarcely had the savage 
cruelty commenced, when the other gates were thrown open, 
and the cavalry, with the fearful hordes of the Croats, poured, 
in upon the devoted inhabitants. 

" Here commenced a scene of horrors for which history has 
no language — poetry no pencil; neither innocent childhood 



90 

nor helpless old age, neither youth, sex, rank, nor beauty, 
could disarm the fury of the conquerors. Wives were abused 
in the arms of their husbands, daughters at the feet of their 
parents, and the defenceless sex exposed to the double sacrifice 
of virtue and life. No situation, however obscure, or however 
sacred, escaped the rapacity of the enemy. In a single church 
fifty-three women were found beheaded. The Croats amused 
themselves with throwing the children into the flames ; Pap- 
penheim's Walloons with stabbing infants at the mother's breast. 
Some officers of the league, horror-struck at the dreadful scene, 
ventured to remind Tilly that he had it in his power to stop the 
carnage. " Return in an hour," was his answer ; " I will see 
what I can do ; the soldier must have some reward for his dan- 
ger and toils." These horrors lasted with unabated fury, till at 
last the smoke and flames proved a check to the plunderers. 
To augment the confusion and to divert the resistance of the 
inhabitants, the imperialists had, in the commencement of the 
assault, fired the town in several places. The wind rising ra- 
pidly, spread the flames, till the blaze became universal. Fear- 
ful indeed was the tumult amid clouds of smoke, heaps of dead 
bodies, the clash of swords, the crash of falling ruins, and 
streams of blood. The atmosphere glowed ; and the intolera- 
ble heat forced at last even the murderers to take refuge in 
their camp. In less than twelve hours that strong, populous, 
and flourishing city, one of the finest in Germany, was reduced 
to ashes, with the exception of two churches and a few houses. 
The Administrator, Christian William, after receiving several 
wounds, was taken prisoner with three of the burgomasters. 
Most of the officers and magistrates had already met an envia- 
ble death. The avarice of the officers had saved four hundred 
of the richest citizens, in the hope of extorting from them an 
exorbitant ransom. But this humanity was confined to the 
officers of the league, whom the ruthless barbarity of the im- 
perialists caused to be regarded as guardian angels. 

" Scarcely had the fury of the flames abated, when the Im- 
perialists returned to renew the pillage amid the ruins and ash es 
of the town. Many were suffocated by the smoke ; many found 
rich booty in the cellars, where the citizens had concealed their 
more valuable effects. On the 13th of May Tilly himself ap- 
peared in the town, after the streets had been cleared of ashes 
and dead bodies. Horrible and revolting to humanity, was 



91 

the scene that presented itself. The living crawling from un- 
der the dead, children wandering about with heart-rending cries, 
calling for their parents ; and infants still suckling the breasts of 
their lifeless mothers. More than six thousand bodies were 
thrown into the Elbe to clean the streets ; a much greater num- 
ber had been consumed by the flames. The whole number of 
the slain was reckoned at not less than thirty thousand. 

"The entrance of the general, which took place on the 14th, 
put a stop to the plunder, and saved the few who had hitherto 
contrived to escape. About a thousand people were taken out 
of the cathedral, where they had remained three days and two 
nights, without food, and in momentary fear of death. Tilly 
promised them quarter, and commanded bread to be distributed 
among them. The next day a solemn mass was performed in 
the cathedral, and a Te Deum sung amidst the discharge of ar- 
tillery. The imperial general rode through the streets, that he 
might be able, as an eye-witness, to inform his master that no 
such conquest had been made since the destruction of Troy and 
Jerusalem. Nor was this an exaggeration, whether we consider 
the greatness, importance, and prosperity of the city razed, or 
the fury of its ravagers." * 

We have been led somewhat out of chronological order, in 
order to give a unity of impression with respect to the wrongs 
of Bohemia. 

We now turn to Italy, among the stationary nations the mo- 
ther country of constitutional liberty. And here we shall take 
for our guide the wise, the just, the liberal Sismondi, whose 
larger work upon the Republics of Italy ought to be translated 
into English, and studied by every American. We cannot take 
time and space hereto introduce the history of the influence of 
the House of Austria upon Italy, by even a succinct account of 
the origin of the imperial claims there. It may be maintained, 
with some justice, that owing to previous circumstances of situa- 
tion, the Constitution of the kingdom of Italy, its prosperity, 
and even its freedom, grew together, under the earlier German 
Emperors. " But," says Sismondi, " the Avar of investitures, 
which lasted more than sixty years, having accomplished the 
dissolution of every tie between the different members of the 
kingdom of Italy, the peace of Constance, in 1183, by the 

* Schiller's Thirty Years' War. 



92 

establishment of a legal liberty, brought to a close the first and 
most noble struggle which the nations of modern Europe have 
ever maintained against despotism." " By this peace, the em- 
peror renounced all the regal privileges which he had hitherto 
claimed in the interior of towns. He acknowledged the right 
of the confederate cities to levy armies, to enclose themselves 
within fortifications, and to exercise, by their commissioners, 
within their own walls, both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The 
consuls of towns acquired, by the simple nomination of the people, 
all the prerogatives of imperial vicars. The cities of Lombardy 
were further authorised to strengthen their confederation for the 
defence of these just rights. On the other side, they engaged 
to maintain certain rights of the Emperor, which were defined 
at the same time; and in order to avoid all disputes, it was 
agreed that these rights might always be bought off by the 
annual sum of 2000 marks of silver." 

There were, it is true, some struggles afterwards, with regard ! 
to these same rights, but the result of these struggles was, in 
the end, the greater independence of Italy ; and it was in con- 
sequence of domestic troubles, of the ambition of the Popes 
within Italy, that the French were first called thither. When 
Rodolph of Hapsburg became Emperor, he sacrificed imperial I 
rights in Italy, which, on the whole, were more favourable to 
its freedom than the influence of the house of Anjou, which 
replaced them. But he did it without knowing it, and because 
his sole object at the moment was to gain from Pope Gregory 
X. a recognition of his title to the Empire. When he after- 
wards discovered what he had ignorantly done, he made some 
movements to resume them, but. he was obliged, by Nicholas 
III., to acknowledge his own diplomas, and from that period, 
1278, the republics as well as the principalities, situated in the 
whole extent of what is now called the States of the Church, 
held of the Holy See, and not of the Emperor. 

It was at the period when the Austrian family was first 
growing in power, by preying on those parts of Europe nearer at 
hand, that, from a variety of concurring causes, the Republics 
of Italy became the paramount power in the Peninsula. Sis- 
mondi has given a beautiful picture of its aspect at this time 
in his Italian Republics, Chap. V. We make a single extract : 

"The cities, surrounded with thick walls, terraced, and guarded 
by towers, were, for the most part, paved with broad flagstones ; 



93 

while the inhabitants of Paris could not stir out of their houses 
without plunging into the mud. Stone bridges of an elegant 
and bold architecture were thrown over rivers ; aqueducts car- 
1 ried pure water to the fountains. The palaces of the podestas 
and signorie united strength with majesty. The most admirable 
of those of Florence, the Palazzo Vecchio, was built in 1298. 
The Loggia in the same city, the church of Santa Croce, that of 
Santa Maria del Fiore, with its dome, so admired by Michael 
Angelo, were begun by the architect Arnolfo, scholar of Nicolas 
di Pisa, between the years 1254 and 1300. The prodigies of this 
first born of the fine arts multiplied in Italy : a pure taste, bold- 
ness, and grandeur struck the eye in all the public monuments, 
and finally reached even private dwellings ; while the princes of 
France, England, and Germany, in building their castles, seemed 
to think only of shelter and defence. Sculpture in marble and 
bronze soon followed the progress of architecture: in 1300, 
Andrea de Pisa, son of the architect Nicolas, cast the admirable 
bronze gates of the Baptistery at Florence : about the same 
time, Cimabue and Giotti revived the art of painting, Casella 
music, and Dante gave to Italy his divine poem, unequalled in 
succeeding generations. History was written honestly, with 
scrupulous research and with a graceful simplicity, by Giovanni 
Villani, and his school ; the study of morals and philosophy be- 
gan ; and Italy, ennobled by freedom, enlightened nations till 
then sunk in darkness. 

" The arts of necessity and luxury had been cultivated with 
not less success than the fine arts ; in every street, warehouses 
and shops displayed the wealth that Italy and Flanders only 
knew how to produce. It excited the astonishment and cupi- 
dity of the French or German adventurer, who came to find 
employment in Italy, and who had no other exchange to make 
than his blood, against the rich stuffs and brilliant arms which 
he coveted. The Tuscan and Lombard merchants, however, 
trafficked in the barbarous regions of the West, to carry there 
the produce of their industry. Attracted by the franchises of 
the fairs of Champagne and Lyons, they went thither, as well 
to barter their goods, as to lend their capital at interest to the 
nobles, habitually loaded with debt ; though at the risk of find- 
ing themselves suddenly arrested, their wealth confiscated, by 
order of the king of France, and their lives, too, sometimes en- 
dangered by sanctioned robbers, under the pretext of repressing 



94 






usury. Industry, the employment of a superabundant capital, 
the application of mechanism and science to the production of 
wealth, secured the Italians a sort of monopoly through Europe ; 
they alone offered for sale what all the rich desired to buy ; 
and notwithstanding the various oppressions of the barbarian 
kings, notwithstanding the losses occasioned by their own often 
repeated revolutions, their wealth was rapidly renewed. The 
workmen, the interest of capital, and the profit of trade, rose 
simultaneously, while every one gained much and spent little ; 
manners were still simple, luxury ivas unknown, and the future 
was not forestalled by accumulated debt." 

We might go on farther to speak of Pisa and Genoa. " It 
is difficult to comprehend how two simple cities could put to 
sea such prodigious fleets as those of Pisa and Genoa." But we 
merely wish to point attention towards what Italy was, when 
left to develop its genius, unrestrained by foreign influence. We 
pass from this period of prosperity over two hundred years, to 
the time when Maximilian entered into the league of Cambray. 
In 1301, Boniface VIII. called Charles of Valois to intervene 
in the affairs of Tuscany ; and the same year the Papal Court 
was transferred into France. In 1313, the emperor Henry VII. 
invaded Italy, to intervene in the affairs of Lombardy. In 1327, 
Louis IV. followed, for the same purpose ; and later, Charles IV., 
his successor. This foreign influence was against republican- 
ism, in favour of the aristocratical families who wished to tyran- 
nise in their respective states. When Charles VIII. of France 
invaded Italy, in 1492, there was no longer to be found, through- 
out the peninsula, " that power of a people, whose every indi- 
vidual will tends to the public weal ; whose efforts are all com- 
bined for the public benefit and the common safety. The princes 
of that country could appeal only to order and the obedience of 
the subject, not to the enthusiasm of the citizen, for the pro- 
tection of Italian independence." 

The league of Cambray, (we here translate rather freely from 
Sismondi's larger work), was the first enterprise in which all the 
civilised states of Europe joined, after the crusades. For the 
first time, the sovereigns of nations made an agreement to par- 
tition between themselves an independent state ; reviving, by 
means of pedantic erudition, superannuated pretensions ; and 
claiming imprescriptable rights of legitimacy. The crusades 
had united Europe on the foundation of religious zeal and en- 



95 

thusiasm ; — in the league of Cambray was developed a new 
principle of union, the personal and momentary interest of the 
strong to despoil the weak. To this event we must assign the 
origin of the international law (du droit public), which, for the 
last three hundred and fifty years, has governed Europe. It 
commenced by the most crying injustice ; and the diplomatic 
science which was, as it were, born with the sixteenth century, 
has served ever since to give pretexts to rapacity and bad faith. 

The league of Cambray was an agreement between the Pope, 
Louis XII., and Maximilian I., to divide all the terra firma of 
the Venetian states. Pope Julius II. had the best foundation 
for his claims, which were for a restitution to the States of the 
Church of what the Venetians had taken from them by violence 
and treachery, in the preceding century. As he could not ob- 
tain it from themselves, however, he consented to receive it 
from the hands of Louis XII. and Maximilian, who combined 
to despoil the republic. The claims of Louis XII. were made 
for provinces, which, when he had subjugated Milan, he had 
himself ceded to the Venetians as the price of their assistance 
to him, but which he now claimed on the score of the impre- 
scriptable right of the Visconti family, of which he had become 
heir. Maximilian, on his side, regarded himself as the legiti- 
mate successor, not only of the most powerful German mon- 
archs, but of the Roman emperors ; and claimed all the pow- 
ers which had been exercised by Frederic Barbarossa, Otho the 
Great, and even by Trajan and Augustus. 

It is difficult to do justice to the absurdity of these claims. 
As to imprescriptible rights, says Sismondi : " Venice, which 
presented itself as the most ancient state of Christendom, as 
the only legitimate daughter of the Roman republic could 
plead rights anterior to those of all the sovereigns." " The only 
basis of international law (du droit public), which can sustain 
profound examination, is that of national compact. The interest 
of nations requires the preservation of their repose; and to 
guarantee this repose, it may, in some instances, admit legiti- 
macy, not as a right, but as a presumption of the national will. 
It may also admit prescription, not as a right, but as a pre- 
sumption of the mutual satisfaction of all partie?. It may ad- 
mit treaties as the only means of disarming popular hatred, 
and of saving the vanquished from the rage of the vanquisher ; 
but then it must admit also the violation of these same treaties, 



96 






as the only and the necessary remedy, when cruel and dishonor- 
able conditions have been imposed by the abuse of force. In 
this case the violation can even become just ; for neither the 
government which has stipulated has the right to bind the na- 
tion to a shameful and ruinous thing, nor has the present 
generation a right, for its own advantage, to bind posterity to 
their ruin. National interest, which leaves a hope to the van- 
quished, on whom a dishonouring treaty has been imposed, 
teaches the vanquishers, for their own sake, not to abuse victo- 
ry." "But with whatever fallacious arguments the potentates 
who despoiled Venice coloured their pretensions, cupidity, jea- 
lousy, and envy, were the true motives which armed them. 
With less than three millions of subjects, upon a territory of 
less extent than a sixth part of France, of Spain, or of Germa- 
ny, Venice ranked with the greatest empires. It had sustained 
in turn, the attacks of Muselmen, French, and Spaniards, with- 
out giving any signs of weakness ; the richest commerce ani- 
mated the capital ; numerous manufactories nourished in all 
the surrounding cities ; the fields prospered by an industrious 
agriculture ; immense water-works had been achieved, which 
enriched the soil; and the people were happy. The subjects 
of the neighbouring monarchs, comparing their own poverty 
with so much strength, opulence, and security, were tempted to 
ask in what consisted the difference ; and to answer to themselves, 
that, in Venice were seen neither the senseless luxury of a vo- 
luptuous court ; nor the depradations of courtier-ministers and 
their subalterns ; nor the petulant ignorance, and ruinous intri- 
gues, of their young favourites. Venice, without pretending to 
give lessons, without being near perfection, was yet a living 
satire upon other governments ; and the latter, by instinct and 
without being able to render an account of their motives, had 
long desired to destroy it." 

To give all an interest in the destruction of the only state 
sufficiently strong to maintain the independence of Italy, Louis 
and Maximilian agreed to divide between themselves all the 
terra Jirma of the Venetians ; to abandon to Ferdinand all the 
fortresses in Apulia ; to the pope, the lordships in Romagna, 
and to the houses of Este and Gonzaga, the small districts near 
the Po." 

The war began, January 1509, by the Pope's excommunicat- 
ing the Doge and the Republic, and France commencing hostil- 



97 

lities. In the war, there was nothing so terrible to the Vene- 
tians as the action of the German army of Maximilian. "No 
sooner did the Germans enter the Venetian cities, than they 
plunged into the most brutal debauchery ; offending public de- 
cency, and exercising their cruelty and rapacity on all those 
who came within their reach." At the siege of Padua, after 
great efforts on the part of Maximilian, the incredible valour of 
the Venetians, who had driven into the city most of their forces, 
induced him to raise the siege. " But these barbarians, who 
came to dispute with the Italians the sovereignty of their coun- 
try, did not need success to prove their ferocity. After having 
taken from the poor peasant, or the captive, all that he pos- 
sessed, they put him to the torture to discover hidden treasure, 
or to extort ransom from the compassion of friends. — In this 
abuse of brute force, the Germans showed themselves the most 
savage, &c." 

And Maximilian personally made himself responsible for 
these horrors. 

" Pope Julius II. soon began to hate his accomplices in the 
league of Cambray. Violent and irascible, he had often shown 
in his fits of passion that he could be as cruel as the worst of 
them. But he had the soul of an Italian. He could not brook 
the humiliation of his country and its being enslaved by those 
whom he called barbarians. Having recovered the cities of 
Romagna, the subject of his quarrel with the Venetians, he 
began to make advances to them. At the end of the first cam- 
paign, he entered into negotiations, and on the 21st of Febru- 
ary, 1510, granted them absolution. He was aware that he 
could never drive the barbarians out of Italy but by arming 
them against each other; and as the French were those he most 
feared, he had recourse to the Germans. It was necessary to 
begin with reconciling the Venetians to the emperor ; but Maxi- 
milian, always ready to undertake everything, and incapable 
of bringing anything to a conclusion, would not relax in a 
single article of what he called his rights. As emperor, he con- 
sidered himself monarch of all Italy, and although he was al- 
ways stopped on its frontier, he refused to renounce the smallest 
part of what he had purposed conquering. He asserted that 
the whole Venetian territory had been usurped from the em- 
pire ; and before granting peace to the republic, demanded 
almost its annihilation." 
5 



98 

War, of course, was continued, and inthe course of three 
years the French were driven from Italy, and an alliance formed 
between Venice and France, for the purpose of driving out the 
Germans. This alliance was inherited, or renewed by Francis I., 
who encountered the enemy at Marignano, in the battle of which 
Marshal Trivulzio declared that every other of the eighteen 
pitched battles he had seen seemed to him children's play in 
comparison. At this battle of the giants, as he termed it, 20,000 
dead were left on the field. " This horrible butchery hastened 
the conclusion of the wars which arose from the league of Cam- 
bray. On the 15th of January, 1516, a peace was signed be- 
tween France and Spain, and Maximilian alone remained at war 
with the republic. During the campaign of that year, his Ger- 
man army continued to commit the most enormous crimes in 
the Veronese March. Want of money, however, in the end, com- 
pelled Maximilian to consent to the treaty of Noyon, already 
signed by the French king. He evacuated Verona on the 14th 
of December, and the Venetians were once more put by the 
French in possession of all the states of which the league of 
Cambray had proposed the partition ; but their wealth was an- 
nihilated, their population reduced to one half, their constitution 
itself broken ; and they were never after in a state to make 
those efforts for the independence of Italy, which might have 
been expected from them before this devastating war." 

When Maximilian died, January 19th, 1519, leaving his he- 
reditary states of Austria to his grandson Charles, already sove- 
reign of Spain, the two Sicilies, the Low Countries and Bur- 
gundy, Italy, indeed the whole of Europe, was endangered by 
the immeasurable growth of this young monarch's power. 
" Leo X. therefore made preliminaries for an alliance with Fran- 
cis L, in order to strengthen himself against him. But sudden- 
ly, with characteristic want of reflection, changing sides, he 
signed a secret treaty with Charles V. to engage him to drive 
the French out of Italy. The question for Italy was now no 
longer the distribution of its provinces between different poten- 
tates, but its very existence. Foreign nations for the future 
were to fight their battles on its ground, and at its expense. 
Leo's inconsiderate action compromised the independence even 
of the States of the Church, where perhaps yet remained a germ 
of the individuality of Italy among the nations. Of all the 
misfortunes that ever came upon Italy, none was so terrible in 



99 

its instant barbarity, or so hopeless for its future, (for it sealed 
its ruin,) as this war in Italy of Charles V. against Francis I. 
As our purpose is more especially to illustrate the character of 
Charles, as a member of the House of Hapsburgh, it is of no 
consequence that the object aimed at in this instance was the 
aggrandizement of Spain, rather than of the archduchy of Aus- 
tria, which was now ceded to Ferdinand I. We are obliged, 
from this time, to look in two directions for the crimes of the 
family. While Ferdinand, in the East of Europe, was destroy- 
ing Bohemian liberties, and encroaching upon Hungary, Charles 
began his successes in Lombardy with the siege of Pavia, 
which ended in the defeat of the French, and the imprison- 
ment of Francis I. ; and soon Italy fully comprehended that it 
was at the mercy of the conqueror. 

It is not possible, in this slight work of ours, to explain in- 
telligibly, to those not familiar with the history of this period, 
how it was, that at this moment all things concurred to put 
Italy so much into the power of a single man. Sismondi, in 
his larger work on the Italian republics, makes it perfectly clear. 
We must content ourselves with stating the fact ; and alas for 
the country that had no hope for its rights but in the mercy and 
the justice of a member of the House of Hapsburgh ! 

" The evil destiny of Italy was accomplished by Charles V., 
although it was the French Charles VIII., who, by invading the 
country thirty-six years before, had opened its gates to the 
transalpine nations. They inflicted on her calamities beyond 
example in history ; calamities so much the more keenly felt, 
as the sufferers were more civilized, the authors more bar- 
barous. The French invasion ended in giving to the greatest 
enemies of France the dominion of that country, so rich, so 
industrious, and of which the possession was sought ardently by 
all. Never would the House of Austria have achieved the 
conquest of Italy, if Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I, 
had not previously destroyed the wealth and military organi- 
zation of the nation ; if they had not themselves introduced 
the Spaniards into the kingdom of Naples, and the Germans 
into the states of Venice ; forgetful that both must soon after 
be subject to Charles V." 

We must, however, go back from these generalities, to a 
statement of the facts which we shall take from Sismondi's Ita- 
lian Republics. 



100 

" The secret treaty between Leo and the Emperor Charles V. 
was signed on May 8th, 1521." "The Pope united his army 
to that of the Emperor in the kingdom of Naples ; the com- 
mand of it was given jointly to Prospero Colonna and the mar- 
quis Pescara : war was declared on the 1st of August, and the 
imperial and pontifical troops entered Milan on the 19th No- 
vember : but in the midst of the joy of this first success, Leo X. 
died," leaving " his successors in a state of distress, which was 
unjustly attributed to them, and which rendered them odious to 
the people ; for the war into which he had plunged them, with- 
out any reasonable motive, was the most disastrous of all those 
which had yet afflicted unhappy Italy. There remained no 
power truly Italian that could take any part in it for her defence. 
Venice was so exhausted by the war of the league of Cambray, 
that she was forced to limit her efforts to the maintenance of 
her neutrality, and was hardly powerful enough to make even 
her neutral position respected. Florence remained subject to 
Giulio de' Medici. The republics of Sierra and Lucca were 
tremblingly prepared to obey the strongest." "The kingdom 
of Naples was governed and plundered by the Spaniards. After 
the French had lost the duchy of Milan, Francesco Sforza, who 
had been brought back by the imperialists, possessed only the 
name of sovereign. He had never been for a moment inde- 
pendent ; he had never been able to protect his subjects from 
the tyranny of the Spanish and German soldiers, who were his 
guards. Finally, the marquis de Montferrat and the duke of 
Savoy had allowed the French to become masters in their states, 
and had no power to refuse them passage to ravage oppressed 
Italy anew." 

The first hostilities resulted in the French General's evacuat- 
ing Lombardy, partly through the defection of his Swiss allies. 
The next year Francis I. made himself master of Milan, and 
attempted the siege of Pavia, where he was attacked by Pes- 
cara, and, after a murderous battle, made prisoner. These 
transactions occupied more than two years, during which time 
the imperial army, unpaid and unprovisioned by Charles, lived 
at free quarters upon unhappy Lombardy. In the course of 
the year 1525, there was much negotiation with respect to the 
ransom of Francis, and efforts, nearly successful, were made by 
Jerome Molone of Milan, to arm all Italy in vindication of her 
independence ; these were frustrated through the duplicity and 



101 

treason of Pescara, who died on the 30th of November, 1525 
at the age of thirty-six, abhorred by all Italy. 

" Charles, abusing the advantages which he had obtained, 
imposed on Francis the treaty of Madrid, signed on the 1 4th of 
January, 1526, by which the latter abandoned Italy and the 
duchy of Burgundy. He was set at liberty on the 18th of 
March following, and almost immediately declared to the Ita- 
lians that he did not regard himself bound by a treaty extorted 
from him by force. On the 22nd of May, he signed a league 
for the liberty of Italy with Clement VII., the Venetians, and 
Francesco Sforza, but still did not abandon the policy of his 
mother ; instead of thinking in earnest of restoring Italian inde- 
pendence, and thus securing the equilibrium of Europe, he had 
only one purpose, that of alarming Charles with the Italians ; and 
was ready to sacrifice them as soon as the emperor should abandon 
Burgundy. At the same time his supineness, love of pleasure, 
distrust of his fortune, and repugnance to violate the treaty of 
Madrid, hindered him from fulfilling any of the engagements 
which he had contracted towards the Italians ; he sent them 
neither money, French cavalry, nor Swiss forces. Charles, on 
the other hand, sent no supplies to pay his armies to Antonio 
de Leyva, the constable Bourbon, and Hugo de Moncada, their 
commanders. These troops were therefore obliged to live at 
free quarters, and the oppression of the whole country was still 
more dreadful than it had ever been. 

" The defection of the duke of Milan, in particular, gave a 
pretence to Antonio de Leyva to treat the wretched Milanese 
with redoubled rigour, as if they could be responsible for what 
Levya called the treachery of their master. The Spanish army 
was quartered on the citizens of Milan ; and there was not a 
soldier who did not make hjs host a prisoner, keeping him 
bound at the foot of the bed, or in the cellar, for the purpose 
of having him daily at hand, to force him, by blows or fresh 
torture, to satisfy some new caprice ; as soon as one wretched 
person died of his sufferings, or broke his bond and ended his 
sufferings by a voluntary death, either precipitating himself 
through a window or into a well, the Spaniard passed into an- 
other house to recommence on its proprietor the same torture. 
The Venetians and the Pope had united their forces, under the 
command of the duke of Urbino, who, exaggerating the tactics 
of Prospero Colonna, was ambitious of no other success in war 



102 

than that of avoiding battle. He announced to the Senate of 
Venice, that he would not approach Milan till the French and 
Swiss, whose support he had been promised, joined him. This 
inaction, while witnessing so many horrors, reduced the Italians 
to despair. Sforza, who had been nine months blockaded in 
the castle of Milan, and who always hoped to be delivered by 
the duke of Milan, whose colours were in sight, supported the 
last extremity of hunger before he surrendered to the Spaniard, 
on the 24th of July, 1526. The Pope., meanwhile, was far 
from suspecting himself in any danger, but his personal enemy, 
Pompeo Colonna, took advantage of the name of the Imperial 
party to raise in the papal state 8000 armed peasants, with 
whom, on the 20th of September, he surprised the Vatican, 
pillaged the palace, as well as the temple of St. Peter, and 
constrained the Pope to abjure the alliance of France and 
Venice. About the same time, George de Frundsberg, a Ger- 
man condottiere, entered Lombardy with 13,000 adventurers, 
whom he had engaged to follow him, and serve the emperor 
without pay, contenting themselves with the pillage of that un- 
happy country. 

The constable Bourbon, to whom Charles had given the 
chief command of his forces in Italy, determined to take advan- 
tage of this new army, and unite it to that for which at Milan 
he had now no further occasion ; but it was not without great 
difficulty that he could persuade the Spaniards to quit that 
city, where they had enjoyed the savage pleasure of inflicting 
torture on their hosts. At length, however, he succeeded in 
leading them to Pavia. On the 30th of January, 1527, he 
joined Frundsberg, who died soon after of apoplexy. Bourbon 
now remained alone charged with the command of this formi- 
dable army, already exceeding 25,000 men, and continually join- 
ed on its route by disbanded soldiers and brigands intent on 
pillage. The constable had neither money, equipments, nor 
artillery, and very few cavalry ; every town shut its gates on 
his approach, and he wiis often on the point of wanting provi- 
sions. He took the road of Southern Italy, and entered Tus- 
cany, still uncertain whether he should pillage Florence or 
Rome. The marquis of Saluzzo, with a small army, retreated 
before him ; the duke of Urbino followed in his rear, but always 
keeping out of reach of battle. At last, Bourbon took the road 
to Rome, by the valley of the Tiber. On the 5th of May, 1527, 



103 

he arrived before the Capital of Christendom. Clement, long 
alarmed at his march, had, on the 15th of March, signed a 
truce of eight months with the viceroy of Naples, and dismissed 
his troops, never imagining that one of the emperor's lieu- 
tenants would not respect the engagements of the other. 
On the approach of Bourbon, however, the walls of Rome were 
again mounted with the engines of war. The next day, the 
6th of May, this renegade prince led his troops to the assault 
of the city. He was killed near the Janiculum, while mounting 
the first scaling ladder. His fall did not stop the terrific band 
of robbers which he led. The victorious army scaled the walls, 
which were ill defended, and spread terror through the quar- 
ters of the Borgo, Vatican, and Trastevere. In a few hours 
they were masters of the whole city, Clement having neglected 
to destroy the bridges of the Tiber. 

" The capital of Christendom was then abandoned to a pillage 
unparalleled in that most calamitous period of the first triumph 
of barbarism over civilization : neither Alaric the Goth, nor 
Genseric theVandal, had treated it with like ferocity. Not only 
was ail that could be seized in every house and every shop carried 
off, but the peasants of the fiefs of Colonna took possession of the 
heavy furniture which did not tempt the cupidity of the soldier. 
From the day when these barbarians entered the city, all per- 
sonal protection was withdrawn ; women were abandoned to the 
outrages of the victors ; and sanctuaries, enriched by the venera- 
tion of Christendom for twelve centuries, were devoted to spolia- 
tion. Men, women, and children were seized, whenever their cap- 
tors could flatter themselves that they had concealed some treas- 
ure, or that there was any one sufficiently interested for them to 
pay their ransom. Every house resounded with the cries and 
lamentations of wretched persons thus subjected to the torture ; 
and this dreadful state of crime and agony lasted not merely 
days, but was prolonged for more than nine months : it was not 
till the 1 7th of February, 1528, that the prince of Orange, one of 
the French lords, who had accompanied Bourbon in his rebellion, 
finally withdrew from Rome all of this army that vice and dis- 
ease had spared. The Germans, indeed, after the first few days, 
had sheathed their swords to plunge into drunkenness and the 
most cruel debauchery ; but the Spaniards, up to the last hour 
of their stay in Rome, indefatigable in their cold-blooded cru- 
elty, continued to invent fresh torture to extort new ransoms 



104 

from all who fell into their hands ; even the plague, the conse- 
quence of so much suffering, moral and physical, which broke 
out amidst all these horrors, did not make the rapacious Span- 
iard loose his prey. 

"A struggle between the Italians, feebly seconded by the 
French, and the generals of Charles V., was prolonged yet more 
than two years after the sack of Rome ; but it only added to 
the desolation of Italy, and destroyed alike in all the Italian 
provinces, the last remains of prosperity." " The banditti whom 
Charles V. called his soldiers, whom he never paid, and who 
showed no disposition to obedience, were cantoned at Milan, 
Rome, and the principal cities of Italy : they divided their time 
between debauchery, and the infliction of torture on their hosts ; 
their officers were unable to induce them to leave the towns, 
*nd advance towards the enemy. The people, in the excess of 
suffering, met every change with eagerness, and received Lan- 
trec (the French commander) as a deliverer." He passed the 
Tronto on the 10th of February, 1528; lost valuable time in 
Apulia, where he took and sacked Melfi on the 23d of March, 
and did not arrive till the 1st of May before Naples. 

" The prince of Orange had just entered the city with the 
army which had sacked Rome, but of which the greater part 
had been carried off by a dreadful mortality, the consequence 
and punishment of its vices and crimes. Instead of vigorously 
attacking them, Lantrec, in spite of the warm remonstrances 
of his officers, persisted in reducing Naples by blockade ; thus 
exposing his army to the influence of a destructive climate." . . 
" The inhabitants of Naples experienced the most cruel priva- 
tions, and sickness soon made great havoc amongst them : but 
a malady not less fatal broke out in the French camp." " In 
the middle of June, the French reckoned 25,000 men ; by the 
2d of August not 4000 were left fit for service." " Lantrec 
himself died on the 15th of August, and almost all his officers." 
The marquis de Saluces, on whom the command devolved, felt 
the necessity of a retreat, but knew not how to secure it in 
presence of such a superior force. He tried to escape from the 
imperialists, by taking advantage of a tremendous storm in the 
night of the 29th of August: but was soon pursued and over- 
taken at Aversa, where, on the 30th, he was forced to capitu- 
late. The magazines and hospitals at Capua were, at the same, 
time, given up to the Spaniards. The prisoners and the sick 



105 

were crowded together in the stables of the Magdalen, where 
contagion acquired new force. The Spaniards foresaw it, and 
watched with indifference the agony and death of all ; for near- 
ly all of that brilliant army perished — a few invalids only ever 
returned to France. 

" During this campaign, another French army, conducted by 
Francois de Bourbon, Count de St. Pol, had entered Lombardy, 
at the moment when Henry, duke of Brunswick, led thither a 
German army. Henry, finding nothing more to pillage, an- 
nounced that his mission was to punish a rebellious nation, and 
put to the sword all the inhabitants of the villages through 
which he passed. Milan was at once a prey to famine and the 
plague, aggravated by the cupidity and the cold-blooded feroci- 
ty of Ley va, who seized all the provisions brought in from the 
country ; and to profit by the general misery, resold them at an 
enormous price." 

" The winter passed in suffering and inaction. The following 
year, Ley va surprised the Count de St. Pol, at Landriano, on the 
21st of June, 1529, and made him prisoner with all his princi- 
pal officers. This was the last military incident of this dread- 
ful war." 

"Peace was ardently desired on both sides; negotiations 
were actively carried on ; but every potentate sought to deceive 
his ally, in order to obtain better conditions from his adversary. 
Margaret of Austria, the sister of the emperor's father, and 
Louisa of Savoy, the mother of the king of France, met at 
Cambray ; and in a conference, to which no witnessess were ad- 
mitted, arranged what was called "Le traite des dames." 
Clement VII. had, at the same time, a nuncio at Barcelona, 
who negotiated with the emperor. The latter was impatient 
to arrange the affairs of Italy, in order to pass into Germany. 
On the 20th of June, 1529, Charles signed at Barcelona a 
treaty of perpetual alliance with the Pope : by it he engaged to 
sacrifice the republic of Florence to the Pope's vengeance, and 
to place in the service of Clement, in order to accomplish it, 
all the brigands who had previously devastated Italy. Flor- 
ence was to be given in sovereignty to the bastard Alexander 
de' Medici, who was to marry an illegitimate daughter of 
Charles V. On the 5th of August following, Louis and Mar- 
garet signed the treaty of Cambray, by which Francis aban- 
doned, without reserve, all his Italian allies to the caprices of 
5* 



106 

Charles ; who, on his side, renounced Burgundy, and restored 
to Francis his two sons, who had been retained as hostages. 
Charles arrived at Genoa, on board the fleet of Andrea Doria, 
on the 12 th of August. The Pope awaited him at Bologna, 
into which he made his entry on the 5th of November. He 
summoned thither all the princes of Italy, or their deputies, and 
treated them with more moderation than might have been ex- 
pected after the shameful abandonment of them by France. 
As he knew the health of Francesco Sforza, duke of Milan, to 
be in a declining state, which promised but few years of life, he 
granted him the restitution of his duchy, for the sum of 900,000 
ducats, which Sforza was to pay at different times ; they had 
not all fallen due when that prince died, on the 24th of Octo- 
ber, 1535, without issue, and his estates escheated to the em- 
peror. On the 23d of December, 1529, Charles granted peace 
to the Venetians, who restored him only some places in Apulia, 
and gave up Ravenna and Cernia to the Pope. 

" On the 20th of March, Alphonso d'Este also signed a treaty, 
by which he referred his differences with the Pope to the arbi- 
tration of the emperor. Charles did not pronounce on them 
till the following year. He conferred on Alphonso the posses- 
sion of Modena, Reggio, and Rubbiera, as fiefs of the empire ; 
and he made the Pope give him the investiture of Ferrara. 
On the 15th of March, 1530, a diploma of the emperor raised 
the marquisate of Mantua to a duchy, in favor of Frederick de 
Gonzaga. The duke of Savoy and the marquis de Montferrat, 
till then protected by France, arrived at Bologna, to place 
themselves under the protection of the emperor. The duke of 
Urbino was recommended to him by the Venetians, and ob- 
tained some promises of favor. The republics of Genoa, Sienna, 
and Lucca, had permission to vegetate under the imperial pro- 
tection ; and Charles, having received from the Pope at Bolog- 
na, on the 22d of February and 24th of March, the two 
crowns of Lombardy and of the empire, departed in the begin- 
ning of April for Germany, in order to escape witnessing the 
odious service, in which he consented that his troops should be 
employed against Florence." 

"A period of three centuries of weakness, humiliation, and 
suffering, in Italy, began in the year 1530 : from that time she 
has been always oppressed by foreigners, and enervated and 
corrupted by her masters. These last have reproached her 



107 

with the vices of which they were themselves the authors. 
After having reduced her to the impossibility of resisting, they 
have accused her of cowardice when she submitted, and of re- 
bellion when she made efforts to vindicate herself. The Italians, 
during this long period of slavery, have been agitated with the 
desire of becoming once more a nation ; as, however, they had 
lost the direction of their own affairs, they ceased to have any 
history which could be called theirs ; their misfortunes have 
become but episodes in the histories of other nations." 

Sismondi closes his history of the Italian Republics, with an 
account of the successive fall of all the republics, which still re- 
mained independent after the coronation of Charles V. Florence 
had been on the point of recovering its liberty from the tyranny 
of the Medici, when the constable Bourbon approached the 
walls in his march to Rome, on the 26th of April, 1527 ; but 
the terror inspired by that army of brigands, repressed the 
movement. When they heard, however, of the taking of 
Rome, the Florentines rose with firmness, expelled the Medici, 
and restored the republic. Michael Angelo completed the 
fortifications of Florence, in 1529. On the other hand, "Cle- 
ment VII. sent against his native city that very prince of 
Orange, the successor of Bourbon, who had made him prisoner 
at Rome ; and with him that very army of robbers which had 
overwhelmed the Holy See, and its subjects, with misery and 
every outrage. This army entered Tuscany, September, 1529." 
Florence capitulated, after immense but vain efforts at defence, 
on the 12th of August, 1530. 

Into Sienna, Charles V. introduced a Spanish garrison, but 
the Siennese, unable to bear the pride, cupidity, and ferocity of 
the Spanish, drove them out the 11th of August, 1552. In 
1555, after incredible sufferings, it capitulated, the 2nd of April, 
1555. The Spaniards retained possession, nevertheless, for two 
years, and death and exile were the lot of the generous citizens 
to whom amnesty had been promised. 

In 1556 Burtamachi of Lucca made an attempt to restore liber- 
ty to the Tuscan cities, which were all to be organized with popu- 
lar constitutions and confederate. The plot was discovered, Bur- 
tamachi executed, and the city given up to a small oligarchy 
for the next two hundred and fifty years. " Genoa, which had 
received the name of republic through Charles V.'s connivance 
(who had needed its services in the war of 1528), was governed 



108 

by a narrow aristocracy, founded by Andrea Doria, who at the 
same time " attached his country to the house of Austria, with a 
submission which the greater number of Genoese felt as a deep 
humiliation." In 1547 the conspiracy of the French nearly de- 
stroyed this government ; Vachero's conspiracy, in 1628, was 
also abortive. " But the spirit of the ancient Italian republics 
was not extinguished among the people of Genoa, as among the 
nobles." In the war of the Austrian succession, in 1746, they 
made alliance with the Bourbons. " The Austrians appeared 
before Genoa ; and the senate, which dared not arm the popu- 
lation, opened their gates to them. The Austrians abused, as 
they have ever done, the favours of fortune. They exacted 
from Genoa a contribution of 9,000,000 of florins to the empire, 
a sum which that city was not in a condition to pay. They 
seized all the money in the bank, all the plate of the churches, 
and even the property of individuals." To these injuries they 
added insults which at length roused the people, who, having no 
other arms, attacked their oppressors with stones from the streets, 
and tiles torn from the houses, till, notwithstanding a firing by 
the soldiers that rilled many houses with the dead, the streets 
were covered with dead Austrians, and the rest fled in terror. 
These mostly perished on the barren mountains around the city ; 
for the Genoese retained their advantage till the treaty of Aix- 
la-Chapelle secured their republic against Austria, under the 
protection of the French. 

Venice employed all the sixteenth century in endeavouring to 
repair the disasters of the league of Cambray. Its policy was, 
especially during the seventeenth century, to throw off the yoke 
of Austria, but it knew its own weakness too well to make an 
open movement. During the Thirty Years' War, however, it 
gave succour to the Protestants of Germany, to Bethlehem Ga- 
bor, and to Ragotski in Hungary. " But the attacks of the 
Turks made it necessary for the Venetians to make friendly 
advances to Austria ; and as its own government grew more 
aristocratic, and odious with despotism, it became more 
and more timid. It attempted to be neutral in the war of 
the Spanish succession. In the French war of 1796 it ac- 
tually took the side of Austria ; but when Bonaparte declared 
war against it, in 1797, Austria, with characteristic ingratitude, 
refused all assistance ; and at the peace of Santo Formio took 
possession of Venice, and part of its states. But after the 



109 

French made themselves masters of Vienna, she was obliged by 
the treaty of Presburg to restore Venice to the kingdom of 
Italy. 

Thus, after Italy lost its liberty, in the first half of the fifteenth 
century, four of the five nominal republics became narrow aristo- 
cracies. 

In the beginning of the nineteenth century Napoleon Bona- 
parte effected a momentary resurrection of this beautiful coun- 
try. " Five millions and a half of inhabitants in the kingdom 
of Italy were put in possession of a constitution, securing the 
participation of numbers in the government, which is the es- 
sence of a republic." Six millions and a half in the kingdom 
of Naples received institutions less advanced, it is true ; but 
even there the law had succeeded arbitrary power ; public and 
oral evidence had succeeded secret information and the torture ; 
equality, the feudal system of education, instead of retrograding, 
had been rendered progressive ; and thought, as well as religious 
conscience, had recovered freedom." Finally, five millions and 
a half, (Piedmontese, Genoese, Parmesans, Tuscans, and Ro- 
mans,) were temporarily united to France, " secure that at no very 
distant period, when their political education should be accom- 
plished, they would again be incorporated in that Italy to the fu- 
ture liberty and glory of which they now directed every thought." 

" It has been the work of the coalition to destroy all ; to place 
Italy again under the galling yoke of Austria ; to take from 
her, with political liberty, civil and religious freedom, and even 
freedom of thought ; to corrupt her morals, and to heap upon 
her the utmost degree of humiliation. Italy is unanimous in 
abhorring this ignominious yoke ; Italy, to break it, has done 
all that could be expected of her. In a struggle between an es- 
tablished government and a nation, the former has all the ad- 
vantage ; it has in its favour rapidity of communication, certainty 
of information, soldiers, arsenals, fortresses, and finances. The 
people have only their unarmed hands, and their masses unac- 
customed to act together : nevertheless, in every struggle with 
its oppressors, during these fifteen years, in Italy, (Sismondi 
wrote in 1832,) the victory has remained with the people. At 
Naples, in Sicily, in Piedmont, in the states of the Church, at 
Modena and Parma, unarmed masses have seized the arms of 
the soldiers ; men chosen by the people have taken the places 
of the despots in their palaces. The Italians, everywhere vie- 



110 

torious over their own tyrants, have, it is true, been everywhere 
forced back under the yoke, with redoubled cruelty, by the 
league of foreign despots. Attacked before they could have 
given themselves a government, or formed a treasury, arsenals, 
or an army, by the sovereign of another nation, who reckons 
not less than 30,000,000 of subjects, they did not attempt a 
hopeless resistance, which would have deprived them of every 
chance for the future." 

" Europe will know no repose till the nation which, in the dark 
ages, lighted the torch of civilization with that of liberty, shall 
be enabled herself to enjoy the light which she created." 

But we must now turn our regards upon Spain, which the 
Austrian family, in the person of the ruthless conqueror of 
Italy, had taken into its Christian (?) guardianship, by right of 
his mother, Joanna of Castile. 

It is not perhaps sufficiently well known, that Spain, as well 
as the other countries of Europe, received from its Gothic and 
Vandalic ancestors the germs of constitutional government, 
which, from peculiar circumstances attending the Saracen con- 
quest, were preserved in singular purity in the several kingdoms 
of Spain, that were afterwards united under Ferdinand and 
Isabella. Robertson, in a view of the state of Europe, which he 
prefixes to his biography of Charles V., says : — 

" Notwithstanding the singular revolution which the invasion 
of the Moors occasioned in Spain, and the peculiarity of its fate, 
in being so long subject to the Mahomedan yoke, the customs 
introduced by the Vandals and Goths had taken such deep 
root, and were so thoroughly incorporated with the frame of its 
government, that in every province which the Christians reco- 
vered from the Moors, we find the condition of individuals, as 
well as the political constitution, nearly the same as in other 
nations of Europe." 

"The royal prerogative was circumscribed within such nar- 
row bounds as reduced the power of the sovereign almost to 
nothing. The privileges of the nobility were great in propor- 
tion, and extended so far as to border on absolute independ- 
ance. The immunities of the cities were likewise greater than 
in other feudal kingdoms ; they possessed considerable influence 
in the arts, and they aspired at obtaining more." 

In Spain also, as in other countries where the germs of con- 
stitutional liberty existed, as the best legacy of their northern 



Ill 

ancestry, there was a struggle for development, which the con- 
servative historians uniformly stigmatize as "turbulence" and 
" want of respect to law," though in fact it is an aspiration for 
a government of laws rather than of persons. 

"In 1492," says Robertson, "in the principality of Catalonia, 
which was annexed to the kingdom of Aragon, the impa- 
tience of the people to obtain the redress of their grievances 
having prompted them to take arms against their sovereign 
John II., they, by a solemn deed, recalled the oath of allegi- 
ance which they had sworn to him, declared him and his pos- 
teriy to be unworthy of the throne, and endeavoured to estab- 
lish a republican form of government, in order to secure the 
perpetual enjoyment of that liberty after which they aspired. 
Nearly about the same period, the indignation of the Castilian 
nobility against the weak and flagitious administration of Hen- 
ry IV. having led them to combine against him, they arrogated, 
as one of the privileges belonging to their order, the right of 
trying and of passing sentence on their sovereign. That the 
exercise of this power might be as public and solemn, as the 
pretension to it was bold, they summoned all the nobility of their 
party to meet at Avila ; a spacious theatre was erected in a plain, 
without the walls of the town ; an image, representing the king, 
was seated on a throne, clad in royal robes, with a crown on 
its head, a sceptre in its hand, and the sword of justice by its 
side. 

"The accusation against the king was read, and the sentence 
of deposition was pronounced, in presence of a numerous assem- 
bly. At the close of the first article of the charge, the arch- 
bishop of Toledo advanced, and tore the crown from the head 
of the image; at the close of the second, the Conde de Placen- 
tia snatched the sword of justice from its side ; at the close of 
the third, the Conde de Beneventi wrested the sceptre from its 
hand ; at the close of the last, Don Diego Lopez de Stuniga 
tumbled it headlong from the throne. At the same instant, 
Don Alphonso, Henry's brother, was proclaimed king of Cas- 
tile and Leon, in his stead. 

" The most daring leaders of faction would not have ven- 
tured on these measures, nor have conducted them with such 
public ceremony, if the sentiments of the people concerning the 
royal dignity had not been so formed by the laws and policy, 
to" which they were accustomed both in Castile and Catalonia, 



112 

as prepared them to approve of such extraordinary proceedings, 
or to acquiesce in them. 

" In Aragon, the form of government was monarchical, but 
the genius and maxims of it were purely republican. The 
kings, who were long elective, retained only the shadow of 
power ; the real exercise of it was in the Cortes or parliament 
of the kingdom. This supreme assembly was composed of four 
different arms or members. The nobility of the first rank ; the 
equestrian order, or nobility of the second class ; the representa- 
tives of the cities and towns, whose right to a place in the Cor- 
tes, if we may give credit to the historians of Aragon, was co- 
eval with the constitution ; the ecclesiastical order, composed 
of the dignitaries of the church, together with the representa- 
tives of the inferior clergy. No law could pass in this assem- 
bly without the assent of every single member who had a right 
to vote. Without the permission of the Cortes, no tax could be 
imposed ; no war could be declared ; no peace could be con- 
cluded ; no money could be coined ; nor could any alteration 
be made in the current specie. The power of reviewing the 
proceedings of all inferior courts, the privilege of inspecting 
every department of administration, and the right of redressing 
all grievances, belonged to the Cortes. Nor did those who con- 
ceived themselves to be aggrieved, address the Cortes in the 
humble tone of suppliants, and petition for redress ; they de- 
manded it as the birthright of freemen, and required the guar- 
dians of their liberty to decide with respect to the points which 
they laid before them. This sovereign court was held during 
several centuries, every year ; but in consequence of a regula- 
tion introduced about the beginning of the fourteenth century, 
it was convoked from that period only once in two years. Af- 
ter it was assembled, the king had no right to prorogue or dis- 
solve it without its own consent ; and the session continued forty 
days. 

" Not satisfied with having erected such formidable barriers 
against the encroachments of the royal prerogative, nor willing 
to commit the sole guardianship of their liberties entirely to the 
vigilance and authority of an assembly, similar to the diets, 
states-general, and parliaments, in which the other feudal na- 
tions have placed so much confidence, the Aragonese had re- 
course to an institution peculiar to themselves, and elected a 
Justiza or supreme judge. 



113 

" This magistrate, whose office bore some resemblance to 
that of the Ephori in ancient Sparta, acted as the protector of 
the people and the comptroller of the prince. 

" The person of the Justiza was sacred, his power and juris- 
diction almost unbounded. He was the supreme interpreter 
of the laws. Not only inferior judges, but the kings them- 
selves, were bound to consult him in every doubtful case, and 
to receive his responses with implicit deference. An appeal lay 
to him from the royal judges, as well as from those appointed 
by the barons within their respective territories. Even when no 
appeal was made to him, he could interpose by his own autho- 
rity, prohibit the ordinary judge to proceed, take immediate 
cognizance of the cause himself, and remove the party accused 
to the Manifestation or prison of the state, to which no person 
had access but by his permission. His power was exerted with 
no less vigour and effect in superintending the administration 
of government, than in regulating the course of justice. 

" It was the prerogative of the Justiza to inspect the conduct 
of the King. He had a title to review all the royal proclama- 
tions and patents, and to declare whether or not they were 
agreeable to law, and ought to be carried into execution. He, 
by his sole authority, could exclude any of the king's ministers 
from the conduct of affairs, and call them to answer for their 
mal-administration. 

" He himself was accountable to the Cortes only, for the 
manner in which he discharged the duties of this high office ; 
and performed functions of the greatest importance that could 
be committed to a subject." 

It is evident from the bare enumeration of the privileges of 
the Aragonese Cortes, as well as of the rights belonging to the 
Justiza, that a very small portion of power remained in the 
hands of the King. 

The Aragonese seem to have been solicitous that their mon- 
archs should know and feel this state of impotence to which 
they were reduced. 

Even in swearing allegiance to their sovereign, an act which 
ought naturally to be accompanied with professions of submis- 
sion and respect, they devised an oath, in such a form, as to 
remind him of his dependence on his subjects. " We," said the 
Justiza to the king in the name of his high-spirited barons, 
" who are each of us as good, and who are altogether more 



114 

powerful than you, promise obedience to your government, if 
you maintain our rights and liberties ; but if not, not." Con- 
formably to this oath they established it as a fundamental ar- 
ticle in their constitution, that if the king should violate their 
rights and privileges it was lawful for the people to disclaim 
him as their sovereign, and to elect another, even though a 
heathen, in his place. The attachment of the Aragonese to this 
singular constitution of government was extreme, and their re- 
spect for it approached to superstitious veneration. In the pre- 
amble to one of their laws, they declare, that such was the 
barrenness of their country, and the poverty oft he inhabitants, 
that, if it were not on account of the liberties by which they 
were distinguished from other nations, the people would aban- 
don it, and go in quest of a settlement to some more fruitful 
region. 

" In Castile, there were not such peculiarities in the form of 
government, as to establish any remarkable distinction between 
it and that of the other European nations. The executive part 
of government was committed to the king, but, with a prerogative 
extremely limited. The legislative authority resided in the Cor- 
tes, which was composed of the nobility, the dignified ecclesias- 
tics, and the representatives of the cities. The assembly of the 
Cortes in Castile was very ancient, and seems to have been al- 
most coeval with the constitution. The members of the three 
different orders, who had a right of suffrage, met in one place, 
and deliberated as one collective body ; the decisions of which 
were regulated by the sentiments of the majority. The right 
of imposing taxes, of enacting laws, and of redressing grievances, 
belonged to this assembly ; and in order to secure the assent of 
the king to such statutes and regulations as were deemed salu- 
tary or beneficial to the kingdom, it was usual in the Cortes to 
take no step towards granting money, until all business relative 
to the public welfare was concluded. The representatives of 
cities seem to have obtained a seat very early in the Cortes of 
Castile, and soon acquired such influence and credit as were 
very uncommon, at a period when the splendor and pre-emi- 
nence of the nobility had eclipsed or depressed all other orders 
of men. The number of members from cities bore such a pro- 
portion to that of the whole collective body, as rendered them 
extremely respectable in the Cortes. The degree of considera- 
tion which they possessed in the state may be estimated by 



115 

one event. Upon the death of John I., a council of regency 
was appointed to govern the kingdom during the minority of 
his son. 

" It was composed of an equal number of noble men and of 
deputies chosen by the cities ; the latter were admitted to the 
same rank, and invested with the same powers, as prelates and 
grandees of the first order. But though the members of com- 
munities in Castile were elevated above the condition where- 
in they were placed in other kingdoms of Europe ; though they 
had attained to such political importance that even the proud 
and jealous spirit of the feudal aristocracy could not exclude 
them from a considerable share in the government ; yet the 
nobles, notwithstanding these acquisitions of the commons, 
continued to assert the privileges of their order, in opposition to 
the crown, in a tone extremely high. There was not any body 
of nobility in Europe more distinguished for independence of 
spirit, haughtiness of deportment, and bold pretensions, than 
that of Castile. The history of that monarchy affords the most 
striking examples of the vigilance with which they observed, 
and of the vigour with which they opposed, every measure of 
their kings that tended to encroach on their jurisdiction, to di- 
minish their dignity, or to abridge their power. Even in their 
ordinary intercourse with their monarchs, they preserved such 
a consciousness of their rank, that the nobles of the first order 
claimed it as a privilege to be covered in the royal presence, 
and approached their sovereign rather as equals than as subjects. 

"The constitutions of the subordinate monarchies, which 
depended upon the crowns of Castile and Aragon, nearly re- 
sembled those of the kingdoms to which they were annexed. 

" In all of them, the dignity and independence of the nobles 
were great ; the immunities and power of the cities were con- 
siderable. 

" An attentive observation of the singular situation of Spain, 
as well as the various events which occurred there, from the 
invasion of the Moors to the union of the kingdom, under Fer- 
dinand and Isabella, will discover the causes to which all the pe- 
culiarities in its political constitution I have pointed out, ought 
to be ascribed. 

" As the provinces of Spain were wrested from the Mahome- 
dans gradually and with difficulty, the nobles who followed the 
standard of any eminent leader in these wars, conquered not for 



116 

him alone but for themselves. They claimed a share in the 
lands which their valour had won from the enemy, and their pros- 
perity and power increased, in proportion as the territory of 
the prince extended. 

" During their perpetual wars with the Moors, the monarchs 
of the several kingdoms in Spain depended so much on their 
nobles, that it became necessary to conciliate their good will 
by successive grants of new honours and privileges. By the 
time that any prince could establish his dominions in a con- 
quered province, the greater part of the territory was parcelled 
out by him among his barons, with such jurisdiction and im- 
munities as raised them almost to sovereign power. 

"At the same time, the kingdoms erected in so many differ- 
ent corners of Spain, were of inconsiderable extent. The 
petty monarch was but little elevated above his nobles. They, 
feeling themselves to be almost his equals, acted as such ; and 
could not look up to the kings of such limited domains with 
the same reverence that the sovereigns of the great monarchies 
in Europe were viewed by their subjects. While these circum- 
stances concurred in exalting the nobility, and in depressing the 
royal authority, there were other causes which raised the cities 
in Spain to consideration and power. 

"As the open country, during the wars with the Moors, was 
perpetually exposed to the excursions of the enemy, with whom 
no peace or truce was so permanent as to prove any lasting se- 
curity, self-preservation obliged persons of all ranks to fix their 
residence in places of strength. The castles of the barons, 
which in other countries afforded a commodious retreat from 
the depredations of banditti, or from the transient violence of 
any interior commotion, were unable to resist an enemy whose 
operations were conducted with regular and persevering vigour. 
Cities, in which great numbers united for their mutual defence, 
were the only places in which people could reside with any 
prospect of safety. To this was owing the rapid growth of 
those cities in Spain of which the Christians recovered posses- 
sion. All who fled from the Moorish yoke resorted to them, 
as to an asylum ; and in them the greater part of those who 
took the fieid against the Mahomedans established their fami- 
lies. 

" Several of these cities, during a longer or shorter course of 
years, were the capitals of little states, and enjoyed all the ad- 



117 

vantages which accelerate the increase of the inhabitants in 
every place that is the seat of government. 

" From these concurring causes, the number of cities in Spain 
at the beginning of the fifteenth century had become consider- 
able, and they were peopled far beyond the proportion which 
was common in other parts of Europe, except in Italy and the 
Low Countries. The Moors had introduced manufactures into 
those cities while under their dominion. The Christians who, 
by intermixture with them, had learned their arts, continued to 
cultivate them. 

" Trade, in several of the Spanish towns, appears to have been 
carried on with vigour ; and the spirit of commerce continued 
to preserve the number of their inhabitants, as the sense of 
danger had first induced them to crowd together. As the 
Spanish cities were populous, many of the inhabitants were of 
a rank superior to those who resided in towns in other coun- 
tries in Europe. 

" That cause, which contributed chiefly to their population, af- 
fected equally persons of every condition, who flocked thither 
promiscuously, in order to find shelter there, or in hopes of 
making a stand against the enemy, with greater advantage than 
in any other station. The persons elected as their representa- 
tives in the Cortes by the cities, or promoted to offices of trust 
and dignity in the government of the community, were often 
of such considerable rank in the kingdom, as reflected lustre on 
their constituents, and on the stations wherein they were placed. 

"As it was impossible to carry on a continual war against 
the Moors without some other military force than that which 
the barons were obliged to bring into the field, in consequence 
of the feudal tenures, it became necessary to have some troops, 
particularly a body of light cavalry, in constant pay. It was 
one of the privileges of the nobles, that their lands were ex- 
empt from the burden of taxes. The charge of supporting 
the troops requisite for the public safety fell wholly on the cities ; 
and their kings being frequently obliged to call upon them 
for aid, found it necessary to gain their favour by concessions, 
which not only extended their immunities, but added to their 
wealth and power. 

" When the influence of all these circumstances, peculiar to 
Spain, is added to the general and common causes which con- 
tributed to aggrandize cities in other countries of Europe, this 



118 

will fully account for the extensive privileges which they ac- 
quired, as well as for the extraordinary consideration to which 
they attained, in all the Spanish kingdoms. 

" By these exorbitant privileges of the nobility, and this un- 
usual power of the cities in Spain, the royal prerogative was 
hemmed in on every side, and reduced within very narrow 
bounds. Sensible of this, and impatient of such restraint, se- 
veral monarchs endeavoured, at various junctures, and by dif- 
ferent means, to enlarge their own jurisdiction. Their power, 
however, or their abilities, were so unequal to the undertaking, 
that their efforts were attended with little success." 

But when Ferdinand and Isabella found themselves at the 
head of the united kingdoms of Spain, and delivered from the 
danger and interruption of domestic wars, they were not only 
in a condition to resume, but were able to prosecute with ad- 
vantage, the schemes of extending the prerogative, which their 
ancestors had attempted in vain. Ferdinand's profound saga- 
city in concerting his measures, his persevering industry in 
conducting them, and his uncommon address in carrying them 
into execution, fitted him admirably for an undertaking which 
required all these talents. He undertook to extend the royal 
prerogative, by abridging the privileges and power of the no- 
bility, and circumscribing their jurisdiction. He also annexed 
the grandmasterships of the three religious orders to the crown. 

" By address, by promises, and by threats, he prevailed on the 
knights of each order to place Isabella and himself at their 
head. Innocent VIII. and Alexander VI. gave this election the 
sanction of papal authority, and subsequent pontiffs rendered 
the annexation of these masterships to the crown perpetual." 
But Ferdinand also did something of a very opposite nature, in 
order to abridge, and at length be able to annihilate the terri- 
torial jurisdiction of the nobility. He countenanced and sup- 
ported the association of the cities of Aragon and Castile, called 
the Holy Brotherhood, and which dated as far back as 1260. 

" This brotherhood exacted a certain contribution from each of 
the associated towns ; they levied a considerable body of troops, 
in order to protect travellers and to pursue criminals ; they ap- 
pointed judges, who opened their courts in various parts of the 
kingdom. 

" Whoever was guilty of murder, robbery, or of any act that 
violated the public peace, and was seized by the troops of the 



119 

Brotherhood, was carried before judges of their nomination, 
who, without paying any regard to the exclusive and sovereign 
jurisdiction which the lord of the place might claim, tried and 
condemned the criminal. By the establishment of this frater- 
nity, the prompt and impartial administration of justice was re- 
stored, and, together with it, internal tranquillity and order 
began to return. The nobles alone murmured at this salutary 
institution. They complained of it as an encroachment on one 
of their most valuable privileges. They remonstrated against 
it in a high tone ; and, on some occasions, refused to grant any 
aid to the crown, unless it were abolished. 

" Ferdinand, however, not only saw the good effects of the 
Holy Brotherhood, with respect to the police of his kingdoms, 
but perceived its tendency to abridge, and at length to annihi- 
late, the territorial jurisdiction of the nobility. He counte- 
nanced it on every occasion. He supported it with the whole 
force of royal authority ; and, besides the expedients employed 
by him in common with the other monarchs of Europe, he 
availed himself of this institution, which was peculiar to his 
kingdom, in order to limit and abolish that independent juris- 
diction of the nobility, which was no less inconsistent with the 
authority of the prince than with the order of society. 

" But though Ferdinand by these measures considerably en- 
larged the boundaries of the prerogative, and acquired a de- 
gree of influence and power far beyond what any of his prede- 
cessors had enjoyed, yet the limitations of the royal authority, 
as well as the barriers against its encroachments, continued to 
be many and strong. The spirit of liberty was vigorous among 
the people of Spain ; the spirit of independence was high 
among the nobility ; and though the love of glory, peculiar to 
the Spaniards in every period of their history, prompted them 
to support Ferdinand with zeal in his foreign operations, and 
to afford him such aid as enabled him not only to undertake, 
but to execute great enterprises, he reigned over his subjects 
with a jurisdiction less extensive than that of any of the great 
monarchs of Europe. 

" During a considerable part of the reign of his successor, 
Charles V., the prerogative of the Spanish Crown was equally 
circumscribed." 

The Cortes of Castile were indeed prevailed on to proclaim 
him king, on condition that his mother should resume her au- 



120 

thority, if she ever recovered her reason, and at the same time 
they voted him a free gift of 600,000 ducats, to be paid in three 
years ; a sum more considerable than had ever been granted to 
any former monarch. 

But the Castilians speedily became discontented with Char- 
les, on account of the favour he bestowed exclusively upon the * 
Flemings, who engrossed all honours, offices, and benefices, 
and who remitted into the Low Countries, in the course of ten 
months, no less a sum than a million one hundred thousand 
ducats. 

The opposition Charles had to struggle with in the Cortes of 
Aragon was more violent and obstinate than that which he had 
overcome in Castile ; after long delays, however, and with much 
difficulty, he persuaded the members to confer on him the title 
of king in conjunction with his mother. At the same time he 
bound himself by that solemn oath, which the Aragonese ex- 
acted of their kings, never to violate any of their rights or 
liberties. When a donation was demanded they were still more 
intractable. Many months elapsed before they would agree 
to grant Charles 200,000 ducats. 

From Aragon Charles proceeded to Catalonia, where he 
wasted as much time, encountered more difficulties, and gained 
less money. 

Meanwhile the oppressive schemes of the Flemings pro- 
voked a confederacy of Segovia, Toledo, Seville, and several 
other cities of the first rank, for the defence of their rights and 
privileges ; "and notwithstanding the silence of the nobility who, 
on this occasion," says Robertson, " testified neither the public 
spirit nor the resolution which became their order, the confe- 
derates laid before the king a full view of the kingdom and of 
the mal-administration of his favourites. The confederacy of 
these cities, at this juncture, was the beginning of that famous 
union among the commons of Castile, which not long after 
threw the kingdom into such violent convulsions as shook the 
throne, and almost overturned the constitution. 

"Charles's election to the imperial crown increased the dissatis- 
faction. To be deprived of the presence of their sovereign, and 
to be subjected to the government of a viceroy and his council, 
were the immediate consequences of this new dignity. To see the 
blood of their countrymen shed in quarrels wherein the nation 
had no concern, to behold its treasures wasted in supporting 



121 

the splendor of a foreign title ; to be plunged into the chaos 
of Italian and German politics, were effects of this event almost 
as unavoidable." 

An insurrection in Valencia, directed against the oppression 
of the grandees, which was great in that kingdom, gave rise to 
an association that laid their grievances before Charles, who, 
irritated at the moment against the nobles who had opposed his 
going to Germany, authorized them to continue in arms. Upon 
which they expelled all the nobles from the city, and committed 
the government to magistrates of their own election, and dis- 
tinguished their conviction by the name of Germanada. 

The cities of Castile also associated to crave redress of 
wrongs from Charles, but he artfully avoided admitting their 
deputation, and summoned the Cortes of Castile to meet at 
Compostella, in Galicia. He called this assembly only to ob- 
tain another donative, in order to appear in Germany with 
splendour suited to the Imperial dignity. To appoint a meet- 
ing of the Cortes in so remote a province, and to demand a 
new subsidy before the time for paying the former was expired, 
were innovations of a most dangerous tendency ; and among 
a people not only jealous of their liberties, but accustomed to 
supply the wants of their sovereigns with a very frugal hand, 
excited an universal alarm. The magistrates of Toledo remon- 
strated against both these measures in a very high tone ; the 
inhabitants of Valladolid, who expected that the Cortes would 
have been held in that city, were so enraged, that they took 
arms in a tumultuary manner ; and if Charles, with his foreign 
counsellors, had not fortunately made their escape during a vio- 
lent tempest, they would have massacred all the Flemings, and 
have prevented him from continuing his journey towards Com- 



" Every city through which he passed petitioned against 
holding a Cortes in Galicia, a point with regard to which Charles 
was inflexible. But though the utmost influence had been ex- 
erted by the ministers, in order to procure a choice of repre- 
sentatives favourable to their designs, such was the danger, 
that, at the opening of the assembly, there appeared among 
many of the members unusual symptoms of ill-humour which 
threatened a fierce opposition to all the measures of the court. 
No representatives were sent by Toledo ; for the lot, according 
to which, by ancient custom, the election was determined in 
G 



122 

that city, having fallen upon two persons devoted to the Flem- 
ish ministers, their fellow-citizens refused to grant them a com- 
mission in the usual form, and in their stead made choice of 
two deputies, whom they empowered to repair to Compostella, 
and to protest against the lawfulness of the Cortes assembled 
there. The representatives of Salamanca refused to take the 
usual oath of fidelity, unless Charles consented to change the 
place of meeting. Those of Toro, Madrid, Cordova, and seve- 
ral other places, declared the demand of another donative to be 
unprecedented, unconstitutional, and unnecessary. All the arts, 
however, which influence popular assemblies, bribes, promises, 
threats, and even force, were employed, in order to gain mem- 
bers. The nobles, soothed by the respectful assiduity with which 
Chievres and the other Flemings paid court to them, or insti- 
gated by a mean jealousy of that spirit of independence which 
they saw rising among the commons, openly favoured the pre- 
tensions of the court, or at the utmost did not oppose them ; 
and at last, in contempt not only of the sentiments of the nation, 
but of the ancient forms of the constitution, a majority voted 
to grant the donative for which the emperor had applied. To- 
gether with this grant, the Cortes laid before Charles a repre- 
sentation of those grievances whereof his people complained, 
and in their name craved redress ; but he, having obtained from 
them all that he could expect, paid no attention to this ill-timed 
petition, which it was no longer dangerous to disregard." 

No sooner was it known that the Cortes in Galicia had 
granted Charles a free gift without obtaining the redress of any 
one grievance, than it produced a civil war. There was an 
insurrection at Toledo, Segovia, Burgos, and other cities, which 
Adrian, whom Charles had left regent in Spain, failed to put 
down, and after having been defeated at Segovia, disbanded 
his troops. Robertson says : 

" Nor were the proceedings of the commons the effects mere- 
ly of popular and tumultuary rage ; they aimed at obtaining 
redress of their political grievances, and an establishment of 
public liberty on a secure basis, objects worthy of all the zeal 
which they discovered in contending for them. The feudal 
government in Spain was at that time in a state more favoura- 
ble to liberty than in any other of the great European king- 
doms. This was owing chiefly to the number of great cities in 
that country, a circumstance I have already taken notice of, 



123 

and which contributes more than any other to mitigate the rig- 
our of the feudal institutions, and to introduce a more liberal 
and equal form of government. The inhabitants of every city 
formed a great corporation, with valuable immunities and privi- 
leges ; they were delivered from a state of subjection and vas- 
salage ; they were admitted to a considerable share in the legis- 
lature ; they had acquired the arts of industry, without which 
cities cannot subsist ; they had accumulated wealth, by engag- 
ing in commerce ; and being free and independent themselves, 
were ever ready to act as the guardians of the public freedom 
and independence. The genius of the internal government 
established among the inhabitants of cities, which, even in coun- 
tries where despotic power prevails most, is democratical and 
republican, rendered the idea of liberty familiar and dear to 
them. Their representatives in the Cortes were accustomed, 
with equal spirit, to check the encroachments of the king and 
the oppression of the nobles. They endeavoured to extend the 
privileges of their own order ; they laboured to shake off the 
remaining incumbrances with which the spirit of feudal policy, 
favourable only to the nobles, had burdened them ; and con- 
scious of being the most considerable orders in the state, were 
ambitious of becoming the most powerful." 

Hence a general convention was held for a new association, 
that assumed the name of the Holy Junta ; which, through the 
resolution of their leader Padilla, obtained possession of the 
person of Joanna, and carried on the government in her name ; 
" as the Castilians," says Robertson, " who idolized the memory 
of Isabella, retaineda wonderful attachment to her daughter, no 
sooner was it known that she had consented to assume the reins 
of government, than the people expressed the most universal 
and immoderate joy ; and believing her recovery to be com- 
plete, ascribed it to a miraculous interposition of Heaven, in 
order to rescue their country from the oppression of foreigners. 
The Junta, conscious of the reputation and power which they 
had acquired by seeming to act under the royal authority, were 
no longer satisfied with requiring Adrian to resign the office of 
regent ; they detached Padilla to Valladolid with a considera- 
ble body of troops, ordering him to seize such members of the 
council as were still in that city, to conduct them to Tordesillas, 
and to bring away the seals of the kingdom, the public ar- 
chives and treasury books. Padilla, who was received by the 



124 

citizens as the deliverer of his country, executed his commission 
with great exactness ; permitting Adrian, however, still to reside^ 
in Valladolid, though only as a private person, and without any 
shadow of power. 

" The emperor, to whom frequent accounts of these transac- 
tions were transmitted while he was still in Flanders, was sen- 
sible of his own imprudence and that of his ministers, in hav- 
ing despised too long the murmurs and remonstrances of the 
Castilians. He beheld, with deep concern, a kingdom, the most 
valuable of any he possessed, and in which lay the strength 
and sinews of his power, just ready to disown Iris authority, 
and on the point of being plunged in to all the miseries of civil 
war. But though his presence might have averted this calamity, 
he could not, at that time, visit Spain without endangering 
the Imperial crown, and allowing the French king full leisure 
to execute his ambitious schemes. The only point now to be 
deliberated upon, was, whether he should attempt to gain the 
malcontents by indulgence and concessions, or prepare directly 
to suppress them by force ; and he resolved to make trial of 
the former, while, at the same time, if that should fail of suc- 
cess, he prepared for the latter; For this purpose, he issued 
circular letters to all the cities of Castile, exhorting them in 
most gentle terms, and with assurance of full pardon, to lay 
down their arms ; he promised such cities as had continued 
faithful, not to exact from them the subsidy granted in the late 
Cortes, and offered the same favour to such as returned to their 
duty ; he engaged that no office should be conferred for the 
future upon any but native Castilians. On the other hand, he 
wrote to the nobles, exciting them to appear with vigour in de- 
fence of their own rights, and those of the crown, against the 
exorbitant claims of the commons ; he appointed the high ad- 
miral Don Fadrique Enriquez, and the high constable of Cas- 
tile, Don Inigo de Velasco, two noblemen of great abilities as 
well as influence, regents of the kingdom in conjunction with 
Adrian ; and he gave them full power and instructions, if the 
obstinacy of the malcontents should render it necessary, to 
vindicate the royal authority by force of arms. 

" These concessions, which, at the time of his leaving Spain, 
would have fully satisfied the people, came now too late to pro- 
duce any effect. The Junta, relying on the unanimity with which 
the nation submitted to their authority, elated with the success 



125 

which hitherto had accompanied all their undertakings, and 
seeing no military force collected to defeat or obstruct their 
designs, aimed at a more thorough reformation of political 
abuses. They had been employed for some time in preparing 
a remonstrance, containing a large enumeration, not only of 
the grievances of which they craved redress, but of such new 
regulations as they thought necessary for the security of their 
liberties. This remonstrance, which is divided into many arti- 
cles relating to all the different members of which the constitu- 
tion was composed, as well as the various departments in the 
administration of government, furnishes us with more authentic 
evidence concerning the intentions of the Junta, than can be 
drawn from the testimony of the later Spanish historians, who 
lived in times when it became fashionable and even necessary to 
represent the conduct of the malcontents in the worst light, 
and as flowing from the worst motives. After a long preamble 
concerning the various calamities under which the nation 
groaned, and the errors and corruption in government to which 
these were to be imputed, they take notice of the exemplary 
patience wherewith the people had endured them, until self- 
preservation, and the duty which they owed to their country, 
had obliged them to assemble, in order to provide in a legal 
manner for their own safety, and that of the constitution : For 
this purpose they demanded that the king would be pleased to 
return to his Spanish dominions and reside there, as all their 
former monarchs had done ; that he would not marry but with 
consent of the Cortes ; that if he should be obliged at any time 
to leave the kingdom, it shall not be lawful to appoint any 
foreigner to be regent ; that the present nomination of Cardi- 
nal Adrian to that office shall instantly be declared void ; that 
he would not, at his return, bring along with him any Flemings 
or other strangers ; that no foreign troops shall, on any pretence 
whatever, be introduced into the kingdom ; that none but na- 
tives shall be capable of holding any office or benefice either in 
church or state ; that no foreigner shall be naturalized ; that 
free quarters shall not be granted to soldiers, nor to the mem- 
bers of the king's household, for any longer time than six days , 
and that only when the court is in progress ; that all the taxes 
shall be reduced to the same state they were in at the death of 
queen Isabella ; that all alienations of the royal demesnes or 
revenues since that queen's death shall be resumed ; that all 



126 

new offices created since that period shall be abolished; that 
the subsidy granted by the late Cortes in Galicia shall not be 
exacted ; that in all future Cortes each city shall send one re- 
presentative of the clergy, one of the gentry, and one of the 
commons, each to be elected by his own order ; that the crown 
shall not influence or direct any city with regard to the choice 
of its representatives ; that no member of the Cortes shall re- 
ceive an office or pension from the king, either for himself or 
for any of his family, under pain of death, and confiscation of 
his goods ; that each city or community shall pay a competent 
salary to its representative for his maintenance during his 
attendance on the Cortes ; that the Cortes shall assemble once in 
three years at least, whether summoned by the king or not, and 
shall then enquire into the observation of the articles now 
agreed upon, and deliberate concerning public affairs ; that the 
rewards which have been given or promised to any of the mem- 
bers of Cortes held in Galicia, shall be revoked ; that it shall 
be declared a capital crime to send gold, silver, or jewels out 
of the kingdom ; that judges shall have fixed salaries assigned 
them, and shall not receive any share of the fines and forfeitures 
of persons condemned by them ; that no grant of the goods 
of persons accused shall be valid, if given before sentence was 
pronounced against them ; that all privileges which the nobles 
have at any time obtained, to the prejudice of the commons, 
shall be revoked ; that the government of cities or towns shall 
not be put into the hands of noblemen ; that the possessions 
of the nobility shall be subject to all public taxes in the same 
manner as those of the commons ; that such prelates as do not 
reside in their dioceses six months in the year, shall forfeit their 
revenues during the time they are absent; that the ecclesiasti- 
cal judges and their officers shall not exact greater fees than 
those which are paid in the secular courts ; that the king shall 
ratify and hold, as good service done to him and to the king- 
dom, all the proceedings of the Junta, and pardon any irregu- 
larities which the cities may have committed from an excess of 
zeal in a good cause ; that he shall promise and swear in the 
most solemn manner to observe all these articles, and on no 
occasion attempt either to elude, or to repeal them ; and that he 
shall never solicit the pope or any other prelate to grant him a 
dispensation or absolution from this oath and promise. 



127 

" Such were the chief articles presented by the Junta to their 
sovereign. As the feudal institutions in the several kingdoms 
of Europe were originally the same, the genius of those govern- 
ments which arose from them bore a strong resemblance to 
each other, and the regulations which the Castilians attempted 
to establish on this occasion, differ little from those which other 
nations have laboured to procure in their struggles with their 
monarchs for liberty. The grievances complained of, and the 
remedies proposed by the English commons in their contests with 
the princes of the house of Stuart, particularly resemble those 
upon which the Junta now insisted. But the principles of 
liberty seem to have been better understood, at this period, by 
the Castilians, than by any other people in Europe ; they had 
acquired more liberal ideas with respect to their own rights and 
privileges ; they had formed more bold and generous sentiments 
concerning government ; and discovered an extent of political 
knowledge to which the English themselves did not attain un- 
til more than a century afterwards. 

" But the spirit of reformation among the Castilians, hitherto 
unrestrained by authority, and emboldened by success, prompt- 
ed the Junta to propose innovations which, by alarming the 
other members of the constitution, proved fatal to their cause. 
The nobles, who, instead of obstructing, had favoured or con- 
nived at their proceedings, while they confined their demands 
of redress to such grievances as had been occasioned by the 
king's want of experience, and by the imprudence and rapa- 
ciousness of his foreign ministers, were filled with indignation 
when the Junta began to touch the privileges of their order, 
and plainly saw that the measures of the commons tended no 
less to break the power of the aristocracy, than to limit the pre- 
rogatives of the crown. The resentment which they had con- 
ceived on account of Adrian's promotion to the regency, abated 
considerably upon the emperor's raising the constable and ad- 
miral to joint power with him in that office ; and as their pride 
and dignity were less hurt by suffering the prince to possess an 
extensive prerogative, than by admitting the high pretensions 
of the people, they determined to give their sovereign the as- 
sistance which he had demanded of them, and began to assem- 
ble their vassals for that purpose. 

" The Junta, meanwhile, expected with impatience the em- 
peror's answer to their remonstrance, which they had appointed 



128 

some of their number to present. The members intrusted with 
this commission set out immediately for Germany, but having 
received at different places certain intelligence from court, that 
they could not venture to appear there without endangering 
their lives, they stopped short in their journey, and acquainted 
the Junta with the information which had been given them. 
This excited such violent passions as transported the whole par- 
ty beyond all bounds of prudence or of moderation. That a* 
king of Castile should deny his subjects access into his presence, 
or refuse to listen to their humble petitions, was represented as 
an act of tyranny so unprecedented and intolerable, that nothing 
now remained but with arms in their hands to drive away that 
ravenous band of foreigners which encompassed the throne, 
who, after having devoured the wealth of the kingdom, found it 
necessary to prevent the cries of an injured people from reach- 
ing the ears of their sovereign. Many insisted warmly on ap- 
proving a motion which had formerly been made, for depriving 
Charles, during the life of his mother, of the regal titles and au- 
thority which had been too rashly conferred upon him, from a 
false supposition of her total inability for government. Some 
proposed to provide a proper person to assist her in the admin- 
istration of public affairs, by marrying the queen to the prince 
of Calabria, the heir of the Aragonese kings of Naples, who had 
been detained in prison since the time that Ferdinand had dis- 
possessed his ancestors of their crown. All agreed that, as the 
hopes of obtaining redress and security merely by presenting 
their requests to their sovereign, had kept them too long in a 
state of inaction, and prevented them from taking advantage 
of the unanimity with which the nation declared in their favour, 
it was now necessary to collect their whole force, and to exert 
themselves with vigour, in opposing this fatal combination of 
the king and the nobility against their liberties. 

"They soon took the field with twenty thousand men. 
After some success and many mistakes in their military ope- 
rations, the Junta was finally defeated at Villalar, April 2 2d, 
1522, and Padilla, their General, was taken prisoner, and put to 
death the next day without even the form of a trial. He spent 
the night in writing two letters, one to the city of Toledo, and 
one to his wife." They are his sufficient eulogy, and we shall 
insert them here. 



129 

The Letter of Don John Padilla to the City of Toledo. 

" To thee, the crown of Spain, and the light of the whole 
world, free from the time of the mighty Goths : to thee, who, 
by shedding the blood of strangers, as well as thy own blood, 
hast recovered liberty for thyself and thy neighbouring cities, 
thy legitimate son, Juan de Padilla, gives information, how by 
the blood of his body, thy ancient victories are to be refreshed. 
If fate hath not permitted my actions to be placed among your 
successful and celebrated exploits, the fault hath been in my ill for- 
tune, not in my good will. This I request of thee as of a mother, 
to accept, since God hath given me nothing more to lose for 
thy sake, than that which I am now to relinquish. I am more 
solicitous about thy good opinion than about my own life. The 
shiftings of fortune, which never stands still, are many. But 
this I see with infinite consolation, that I, the least of thy chil- 
dren, suffer death for thee, and that thou hast nursed at thy 
breasts such as may take vengeance for my wrongs. Many 
tongues will relate the manner of my death, of which I am still 
ignorant, though I know it to be near. My end will testify 
what was my desire. My soul I recommend to thee as to the 
patroness of Christianity. Of my body I say nothing, for it 
is not mine. I can write nothing more, for at this very moment 
I feel the knife at my throat, with greater dread of thy dis- 
pleasure, than apprehension of my own pain." 

The Letter to his Wife. 
" Senora, 

" If your grief did not afflict me more than my own death, I 
should deem myself perfectly happy. For the end of life being 
certain to all men, the Almighty confers a mark of distinguish- 
ing favour upon that person, for whom he appoints a death 
such as mine, which though lamented by many, is nevertheless 
acceptable unto him. It would require more time than I now 
have, to write anything that could afford you consolation. That 
my enemies will not grant me, nor do I wish to delay the re- 
ception of that crown which I hope to enjoy. You may bewail 
your own loss, but not my death, which, being so honourable, 
ought not to be lamented by any. My spirit, for nothing else is 
left to me, I bequeath to you. You will receive it, as the thing 
6* 



130 

in this world which you value most. I do not write to my fa- 
ther Pero Lopez, because I dare not ; for though I have shown 
myself to be his son in daring to lose my life, I have not been 
the heir of his good fortune. I will not attempt to say anything 
more, that I may not tire the executioner, who waits for me ; 
and that I may not excite a suspicion, that, in order to prolong 
my life, I lengthen out my letter. My servant Sosia, an eye- 
witness, and to whom I have communicated my most secret 
thoughts, will inform you of what I cannot now write, and thus 
I rest, expecting the instrument of your grief, and of my deliv- 
erance." Sandov. Hist. vol. i. p. 4*78. 

Padilla's widow, Donna Maria Pacheco, showed herself wor- 
thy of her husband, and prosecuted that cause in defence of 
which he had suffered. 

" Respect for her sex, or admiration for her courage and 
abilities, as well as sympathy with her misfortunes, and vene- 
ration for the memory of her husband, secured her the same 
ascendant over the people which he had possessed, The pru- 
dence and vigour with which she acted, justified that confidence 
they placed in her. She wrote to the French general in Na- 
varre, encouraging him to invade Castile by the offer of power- 
ful assistance. She endeavoured by her letters and emissaries 
to revive the spirit and hopes of the other cities. She raised 
soldiers, and exacted a great sum from the clergy belonging to 
the cathedral, in order to defray the expense of keeping them 
on foot. She employed every artifice that could interest or in- 
flame the populace. For this purpose she ordered crucifixes to 
be used by her troops instead of colours, as if they had been at 
war with the infidels and enemies of religion ; she marched 
through the streets of Toledo with her son, a young child, clad 
in deep mourning seated on a mule, having a standard carried 
before him, representing the manner of his father's execution. 
By all these means she kept the minds of the people in such 
perpetual agitation as prevented their passions from subsiding, 
and rendered them insensible of the dangers to which they 
were exposed, by standing alone in opposition to the royal 
authority. While the army was employed in Navarre, the 
regents were unable to attempt the reduction of Toledo by 
force ; and all their endeavours, either to diminish Donna 
Maria's credit with the people, or to gain her by large promises 



131 

and the solicitations of her brother the Marquis de Mondecar, 
proved ineffectual. Upon the expulsion of the French out of 
Navarre, part of the army returned into Castile, and invested 
Toledo. Even this made no impression on the intrepid and 
obstinate courage of Donna Maria. She defended the town with 
vigour, her troops in several sallies beat the royalists, and no 
progress was made towards reducing the place, until the clergy, 
whom she had highly offended by invading their property, 
ceased to support her. As soon as they received information 
of the death of William de Croy, archbishop of Toledo, whose 
possession of that see was their chief grievance, and that the 
emperor had named a Castilian to succeed him, they openly 
turned against her, and persuaded the people that she had ac- 
quired such influence over them, by the force of enchantments, 
that she was assisted by a familiar daemon which attended her 
in the form of a Negro-maid, and that by its suggestions she 
regulated every part of her conduct. The credulous multitude, 
whom their impatience of a long blockade, and despair of ob- 
taining succours either from the cities formerly in confederacy 
with them, or from the French, rendered desirous of peace, took 
arms against her, and driving her out of the city, surrendered 
it to the royalists. She retired to the citadel, which she defend- 
ed with amazing fortitude four months longer ; and when re- 
duced to the last extremities, she made her escape in disguise, 
and fled to Portugal, where she had many relations. 

" Upon her flight, the citadel surrendered. Tranquillity was 
re-established in Castile; and this bold attempt of the com- 
mons, like all unsuccessful insurrections, contributed to confirm 
and extend the power of the crown, which it was intended to 
moderate and abridge. The Cortes still continued to make a 
part of the Castilian constitution, and was summoned to meet 
whenever the king stood in need of money ; but instead of 
adhering to their ancient and cautious form of examining and 
redressing public grievances, before they proceeded to grant any 
supply, the more courtly custom of voting a donative in the 
first place was introduced, and the sovereign having obtained 
all that he wanted, never allowed them to enter into any in- 
quiry, or to attempt any reformation injurious to his authority. 
The privileges which the cities had enjoyed were gradually 
circumscribed or abolished ; their commerce began from this 
period to decline; and becoming less wealthy and less populous, 



132 

they lost that power and influence which they had acquired in 
the Cortes." 

Meanwhile there was civil war in Valencia, carried on by the 
Germanada, to whom Charles had formerly granted the use 
of arms, against the nobility, with whom he was, at the time 
of the grant, angry. At first he left the nobles to fight their 
own battle, but after the victory of Villalar he dispatched to 
their assistance a body of Castilian cavalry ; the insurrection 
was put down, and the republican government that had been es- 
tablished was overthrown, the leaders suffering most cruel deaths. 

There were also disaffections in Aragon, and a formidable in- 
surrection in Majorca, and it seems as if it was only to the 
circumstance, that the several kingdoms of Spain did not make 
common cause, that Charles owed the preservation of his 
Spanish crowns. 

On his return to Spain, after these commotions, he acted 
with the cool prudence characteristic of him. After a rebellion 
so general, scarcely twenty persons were punished capitally, 
and this clemency, together with his care to avoid giving more 
offence, conciliated the war-wearied people. The nobles also 
supported his authority against the commons, whose late 
movements had been to them no less terrific than to the em- 
peror. 

But it was only because Charles had not the power to do 
otherwise, that he showed this clemency. In 1539, when want- 
ing money to pay the Imperial army, which had served him in 
Italy and elsewhere, "he assembled the Cortes of Castile at 
Toledo, and having represented to them the extraordinary ex- 
pense of his military operations, together with the great debts 
in which these had necessarily involved him, he proposed 
to levy such supplies as the present exigency of his affairs de- 
manded, by a general excise on commodities. But the Span- 
iards already felt themselves oppressed with a load of taxes un- 
known to their ancestors. They had often complained that 
their country was drained not only of its wealth but of its in- 
habitants, in order to prosecute quarrels in which it was not in- 
terested, and to fight battles from which it could reap no bene- 
fit, and they determined not to add voluntarily to their own 
burdens, or to furnish the Emperor with the means of engaging 
in new enterprises, no less ruinous to the kingdom than most 
of those which he had hitherto carried on. The nobles, in par- 



133 

ticular, inveighed with great vehemence against the imposition 
proposed, as an encroachment upon the valuable and distin- 
guishing privilege of their order, that of being exempted from 
the payment of any tax. They demanded a conference with 
the representatives of the cities concerning the state of the na- 
tion. They contended that if Charles would imitate the exam- 
ple of his predecessors, who had resided constantly in Spain, 
and would avoid entangling himself in a multiplicity of trans- 
actions foreign to the concerns of his Spanish dominions, the 
stated revenues of the crown would be fully sufficient to defray 
the necessary expenses of government. They represented to 
him, that it would be unjust to lay new burdens upon the peo- 
ple, while this prudent and effectual method of reestablishing 
public credit, and securing national opulence, was totally neglect- 
ed. Charles, after employing arguments, entreaties, and pro- 
mises, but without success, in order to overcome their obstinacy, 
dismissed the assembly with great indignation. From that pe- 
riod neither the nobles nor the prelates have been called to these 
assemblies, on pretence that such as pay no part of the public 
taxes, should not claim any vote in laying them on. None 
have been admitted to the Cortes but the procurators or repre- 
sentatives of eighteen cities. These, to the number of thirty-six, 
being two from each community, form an assembly which bears 
no resemblance either in power, or dignity, or independence, 
to the ancient Cortes, and are absolutely at the devotion of the 
court in all their determinations. Thus the imprudent zeal with 
which the Castilian nobles had supported the regal prerogative, 
in opposition to the claims of the commons during the com- 
motions in the year 1521, proved at last fatal to their own body. 
By enabling Charles to depress one of the orders in the state, 
they destroyed that balance to which the constitution owed its 
security, and put it in his power, or in that of his successors, 
to humble the other, and to strip it gradually of its most valu- 
able privileges." 

Thus coolly, and without a groan of sympathy, does Ro- 
bertson relate a crime which extinguished a great nation. 

But in this instance, it must be confessed, that the crime is 
less liable to awaken the indignation of the historian and his 
readers, because Might seems to have made Right ; this last 
outrage was not resisted. When Charles V. thus coolly 
drove the ploughshare of destruction over the constitutional 



134 

rights of Spain, we cannot but wonderingly inquire, where are 
those proud and turbulent Aragonese, Catalonians, Castilians, 
from whom he and his courtiers so narrowly escaped with life, 
when, in order to force from them 200,000 ducats, he removed 
the Cortes from Valladolidto Compostella, by an exertion of 
his royal prerogative ? Where are those " Children of Toledo," 
invoked by the dying Padilla to take vengeance for the wrongs 
he suffered in their cause ? Whither, oh, whither has fled 
the spirit of the Holy Junta ? What has Spain been doing in 
these last score of years, that it should be so changed ? The 
ruthless will to destroy their constitutional rights in Charles 
V. — that can surprise us no longer ; that is the inherited 
spirit, the essence of the family of Hapsburgh. How can any 
finite thing grow, except after its kind ? What is wonderful is 
not that Charles, with the Pope, and Italy, and Flanders at his 
feet with the imperial army of Germany to execute his be- 
hests, so managing by his cold diplomacy and cunning hypo- 
crisy all these forces, that they know not well what they are 
doing it is not wonderful that all this was too much for the ma- 
terial forces of Spain, or of any nation whatever, but it is 
wonderful, and it needs explanation, that, in Spain itself, not a 
battle was fought to sow the blood-seeds of a future harvest, 
not a solitary voice even uttered the death-shriek of freedom 
over their blood-honoured, time-honoured constitutional rights 
at the moment they were finally strangled. 

We must, in fact, look in another quite different direction 
for the explanation of this fact, and, though it takes us a little 
out of the course of our appointed work, we shall take leave 
to do so. 

Liberty, that uncontained, uncontainable spirit, which is the 
life of all life, at once its origin and its end, what is it, where is 
it ? Where the Spirit of the Lord is, says the apostle, there is 
liberty. But let us not repeat these words technically ; let us 
at once, ' clearing our minds of cant,' seize upon their mean- 
ing. In vain for us is the Spirit of the Lord, unless it is incar- 
nated ; and yet, when it becomes incarnate, let us realize that 
none the less is it the uncontained and uncontainable, and to 
be worshipped as such, neither in the temple nor on the moun- 
tain, but in spirit and in truth. Liberty is nothing if it is not 
the element of manliness. It exists for no nation any longer 
than manliness pervades the people. It is itself evolved from 



135 

the manliness of a people, and whatever may have been its tri- 
umphs on any soil, if the men of that soil change or become no 
longer manly, we may wander among the palaces or the cot- 
tages where they formerly dwelt, and inquire for its whereabout 
in vain. Man cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. 
When the moment for Charles V.'s master-stroke came, instead 
of those men who once startled the echoes of the Sierras of 
Spain with their no to the demand of an encroaching royal pre- 
rogative, there are ghouls only, that inhabit castle and cottage, 
city palace and city bizarre ; the activity, the energy, the life- 
blood of the country, has gone over the sea ; — for America has 
been discovered ; the gold and silver mines of Mexico and 
Peru have been opened a, far off Eldorado, a material ' foun- 
tain of immortal youth,' that the body may imbibe, has seized 
the imagination and addressed every passion of the young men 
of the commons of Spain. The trees of the garden are so fine 
for the eyes, that the tree of life, which stands in the midst of 
the garden, is passed by, until at last the words of doom have 
been pronounced, and there is no winning the way back, but 
to fight with the flaming sword which turns every way. 

We have said and seen, in the foregoing pages, that the 
stronghold of liberty is ever in the commons of a nation ; and 
no nobility is strengthened by manliness any farther, or any 
longer, than it makes common cause with the rights of the 
commons. The nobility of Spain deserted the commons in 
1521, and this enabled Charles, in 1539, to do, as far as their 
order was concerned, what Ave have just recorded. Still there 
would have been hope for Spain, if — which is a fact very com- 
monly overlooked — the commons had not been far away from 
sacred fatherland, drinking themselves drunk with the gold 
they had madly quaffed, after having waded through sens of 
Indian blood to seize it. But it va'dj be asked, how could so 
base a quest have carried ofT noble men ? How could manly 
priests of the spirit of liberty have let the wine of immortality 
be spilled, while they were rushing madly after what could, at 
best, be of no value but as the chalice to hold it ? 

It is the child's question, who wonders over the story of the 
chosen people of the Bible, that they could stray away from their 
invisible God and King after the stone and metal gods of the 
Pagans. Never was the most sordid of objects so enveloped in 
the robes of an angel of light. Who does not know that every 



136 

innocent and lawful affection, every noble and generous 
plan of usefulness to others, that the interests of science, nay, 
even those of religion itself, can most easily take on this garb 
of foreign adventure, after means to attain their object ? And 
were not the emblems of religion — the crosier and the bread 
of the Lord — used freely by pope and prelate, to mystify and 
consecrate to the imaginative and superstitious their own desire 
of action and adventure, even their sordid lust of gold ? Let 
us not revile, but learn that liberty is a jealous god, who will 
have no other gods before her, but inexorably visit on the chil- 
dren's children the faithlessness of their fathers to the Invisible 
Source, Guardian, Element, and End of a nation's life. 

We do not pursue the history of Spain through the reigns of 
the other kings of the House of Austria, although there might 
be much gathered to illustrate our subject, even as late as the 
time of the War of Succession, when the Catalonians were 
faithful to the House of Austria, yet were heartlessly abandoned 
at last to the House of Bourbon, without any stipulations for 
mercy made for them by those whose interests they had de- 
fended so heroically. We must turn to the history of the 
Netherlands. 

The Netherlands came under the House of Austria, as we 
have already seen, by the marriage of Maximilian I. with Mary, 
daughter of Charles the Bold. The constitutional liberties of 
the people, in some instances, dated as far back as the ninth 
century. Mr. Grattan, in his History of the Netherlands, 
says : — 

" From the time of Charlemagne, the people of the ancient 
Menapia formed political associations to raise a barrier against 
the despotic violence of the Franks. These associations were 
called Gilden, and in the Latin of the times Gildonia. They 
comprised, besides their covenants for mutual protection, an 
obligation which bound every member to give succour to any 
other, in cases of illness, conflagration, or shipwreck. But the 
growing force of these social compacts alarmed the quick- 
sighted despotism of Charlemagne, and they were, consequent- 
ly, prohibited both by him and his successors. To give a 
notion of the importance of this prohibition to the whole of 
Europe, it is only necessary to state that*the most ancient cor- 
porations (all which had preceded and engendered the most 
valuable municipal rights) were nothing more than gilden. 



137 

Thus, to draw an example from Great Britain, the corporative 
charter of Berwick still bears the title of Charta Gildonice. But 
the ban of the sovereigns was without efficacy, when opposed 
to the popular will. The gilden stood their ground ; and within 
a century after the death of Charlemagne, all Flanders was co- 
vered with corporate towns. 

" This popular opposition took, however, another form in 
the northern parts of the country, which still bore the common 
name of Friesland ; for there it was not merely local but na- 
tional. The Frisons succeeded in obtaining the sanction of the 
monarch to consecrate, as it were, those rights which were 
established under the ancient forms of government. The fact 
is undoubted ; but the means which they employed are uncer- 
tain. It appears most probable that this great privilege was the 
price of their military services ; for they held a high place in 
the victorious armies of Charlemagne; and Turpin, the old 
French romancer, alluding to the popular traditions of his time, 
represents the warriors of Friesland as endowed with the most 
heroic valor. 

" These rights, which the Frisons secured, according to their 
own statements, from Charlemagne, but most undoubtedly from 
some one or other of the earliest emperors, consisted, first, in 
the freedom of every order of citizens ; secondly, in the right 
of property, — a right which admitted no authority of the sove- 
reign to violate by confiscation, except in cases of downright 
treason ; thirdly, in the privilege of trial by none but native 
judges, and according to their national usages ; fourthly, in a 
very narrow limitation of the military services which they owed 
to the king ; fifthly, in the hereditary title to feudal property, 
in direct line, on payment of certain dues or rents. These five 
principal articles sufficed to render Friesland, in its political as- 
pect, totally different from the other portions of the monarchy. 
Their privileges secured, tiheir property inviolable, their duties 
limited, the Frisons were altogether free from the servitude 
which weighed down France. It will soon be seen that these spe- 
cial advantages produced a government nearly analogous to 
that which Magna Charta was the means of founding at a later 
period in England." 

With respect to Flanders, Grattan also says : — 

"It was about the year 1100 that the commons began to 
possess the privilege of regulating their internal affairs : they 



138 

appointed their judges and magistrates, and attached to their 
authority the old custom of ordering all the citizens to assem- 
ble or march when the summons of the feudal lord sounded 
the signal for their assemblage or service. By this means each 
municipal magistracy had the disposal of a force far superior to 
those of the nobles, for the population of the towns exceeded 
both in number and discipline the vassals of the seigniorial 
lands. And these trained bands of the towns made war in a 
way very different from that hitherto practised ; for the chivalry 
of the country, making the trade of arms a profession for life, 
the feuds of the chieftains produced hereditary struggles, al- 
most always slow, and mutually disastrous. But the townsmen, 
forced to tear themselves from every association of home and 
its manifold endearments, advanced boldly to the object of the 
contest ; never shrinking from the dangers of war, from fear of 
that still greater one to be found in a prolonged struggle. It 
is thus that it may be remarked, during the memorable con- 
flicts of the thirteenth century, that when even the bravest of 
the knights advised their counts or dukes to grant or demand a 
truce, the citizen militia never knew but one cry — 'To the 
charge.' " 

With such a background of privilege in their history, it is 
not strange that the Netherlands should have wished to make 
terms with Maximilian, before acknowledging his authority. 
They stipulated for their rights, and in a war which broke out 
in consequence of his attempt, after the death of Mary, to 
usurp power, his person was actually seized and imprisoned at 
Bruges ; nor was he released until all Europe interposed ; and 
then, only on conditions which, with the perfidy characteristic 
of his house, he violated as soon as he was free. " For," as Mr. 
Grattan says, " these kind of compacts were never observed by 
the princes of those days, beyond the actual period of their 
capacity to violate them. The emperor having entered the 
Netherlands at the head of 40,000 men, Maximilian, so sup- 
ported, soon showed his contempt for the obligations he had 
sworn to, and had recourse to force for the extension of his 
authority. The valour of the Flemings and the military talents 
of their leader, Philip of Cleves, thwarted all his projects, and 
a new compromise was entered into. Flanders paid a large 
subsidy, and held fast her rights. The German troops were 
sent into Holland, and employed for the extinction of the 



139 

Hoeks ; who, as they formed by far the weaker faction, were 
now soon destroyed. That province, which had been so lono- 
distracted by its intestine fends, and which had consequently 
played but an insignificant part in the transactions of the Ne- 
therlands, now resumed its place; and acquired thenceforth 
new honor, till it at length came to figure in all the importance 
of historical distinction." 

On obtaining the imperial crown, Maximilian was able to 
leave the scene of trouble, and invest Philip I. with the gov- 
ernment of the Netherlands. The latter ensured his quiet pos- 
session of the place by renouncing all pretensions to Friesland, 
re-establishing commercial relations with England, whom Maxi- 
milian had offended, and taking care, to consult the States- 
General on his projects of marriage with Joanna of Castile. 
His reign was rendered remarkable by the war of Friesland in 
defence of its independence against Albert of Saxony, to whom 
Maximilian had, as emperor, granted the stadtholdership, as 
reward for services rendered. In this war Albert took by as- 
sault the town of Leuwaarden, on which occasion he had all 
the chief burghers impaled. But, fortunately for the country, 
he died in 1500, without having succeeded in his projects of 
usurpation. 

In what spirit Charles V. treated his paternal heritage, 
may be judged by his conduct towards Ghent, when it at- 
tempted, in 1529, " to vindicate its rights and privileges against 
the exactions of his sister Margaret, whom Maximilian had 
made Governess of the Netherlands," after the death of Philip. 

We quote the words of Robertson : — 

" Having received orders from her brother to invade France, 
with all the forces she could raise, she assembled the States of 
the United Provinces, and obtained from them a subsidy of 
1,200,000 florins, to defray the expense of that undertaking. 
Of this sum, the county of Flanders was obliged to pay a third 
part as its proportion. But the citizens of Ghent, the most con- 
siderable city in that country, averse to a war with France, with 
which they carried on an extensive and gainful commerce, re- 
fused to pay their quota, and contended, that in consequence 
of stipulations between them and the ancestors of their present 
sovereign, the Emperor, no tax could be levied upon them, un- 
less they had given their express consent to the imposition of 
it. The governess, on the other hand, maintained, that as the 



140 

subsidy of 1,200,000 florins had been granted by the States of 
Flanders, of which their representatives were members, they 
were bound, of course, to conform to what was enacted by them, 
as it is the first principle in society on which the tranquillity 
and order of government depend, that the inclinations of the 
minority must be overruled by the judgment and decision of 
the superior number. The citizens of Ghent, however, were 
not willing to relinquish a privilege of such high importance as 
that which they claimed. Having been accustomed, under the 
government of the house of Burgundy, to enjoy extensive im- 
munities, and to be treated with much indulgence, they dis- 
dained to sacrifice to the delegated power of a regent, those 
rights and liberties which they had often and successfully as- 
serted against their greatest princes. The queen, though 
she endeavoured at first to soothe them, and to reconcile 
them to their duty by various concessions, was at last so much 
irritated by the obstinacy with which they adhered to their 
claim, that she ordered all the citizens of Ghent, on whom she 
could lay hold, in any part of the Netherlands, to be arrested. 
But this rash action made an impression very different from 
what she expected, on men whose minds were agitated with all 
the violent passions which indignation at oppression and zeal 
for liberty inspire. Less affected with the danger of their friends 
and companions, than irritated at the governess, they openly 
despised her authority and sent deputies to the other towns of 
Flanders, conjuring them not to abandon their country at such 
a juncture, but to concur with them in vindicating its rights 
against the encroachments of a woman who either did not know 
or did not regard their immunities. All but a few inconsider- 
able towns declined entering into a confederacy against the 
governess ; they joined, however, in petitioning her to put off 
the term for payment of the tax so long, that they might have 
it in their power to send some of their number into Spain, in 
order to lay their title to exemption before their sovereign. 
This she granted with some difficulty. But Charles received 
their commissioners with an haughtiness to which they were 
not accustomed from their ancient princes, and enjoining them 
to yield the same respectful obedience to his sister, which they 
owed to him in person, remitted the examination of their claim 
to the council of Malines. This court, which is properly a stand- 
ing committee of the parliament, or States of the country, and 



141 

which possesses the supreme jurisdiction in all matters, civil as 
well as criminal, pronounced the claim of the citizens of Ghent 
to be ill-founded, and appointed them forthwith to pay their pro- 
portion of the tax." 

An insurrection was the consequence, in which the Netherland- 
er* relied upon the assistance of Charles's enemy, the king of 
France. But it was the interest or the humour of Francis, at 
the moment, rather to communicate their intentions to the em- 
peror, to whom he at the same time granted a free passage 
through his dominions to the Netherlands. Thus abandoned, 
as Robertson continues : 

" The near approach of danger made them at last so sensi- 
ble of their own folly, that they sent ambassadors to Charles, 
imploring his mercy, and offering to set open their gates at his 
approach. The emperor, without vouchsafing any other an- 
swer, than that he would appear among them as their sove- 
reign, with sceptre and sword in his hand, began his march at 
the head of his troops. Though he chose to enter the city on 
the twenty-fourth of February, his birth-day, he was touched 
with nothing of that tenderness or indulgence which was natu- 
ral toward the place of his nativity. Twenty-six of the princi- 
pal citizens were put to death ; a greater number was sent into 
banishment; the city ivas decla?'ed to have forfeited all its pri- 
vileges and immunities ; the revenues belonging to it were con- 
fiscated ; its ancient form of government ivas abolished ; the 
nomination of its magistrates was vested for the future in the 
emperor and his successors ; a new system of laws and political 
administration was prescribed ; and, in order to bridle the 
seditious spirit of the citizens, orders were given to erect a 
strong citadel, for defraying the expense of which a fine of 
180,000 florins was imposed on the inhabitants, together with 
an annual tax of 6,000 florins for the support of the garrison. 
By these rigorous proceedings, Charles not only punished the 
citizens of Ghent, but set an awful example of severity before 
the other subjects in the Netherlands, whose immunities and 
privileges, partly the effect, partly the cause of their extensive 
commerce, circumscribed the prerogative of their sovereign 
within very narrow bounds, and often stood in the way of mea- 
sures which he wished to undertake, or fettered and retarded 
him in his operations." 



142 

We do not relate the shameful conduct of Charles to Francis, 
at this time, being obliged by the limitations of our plan to con- 
fine ourselves principally to the crimes of the House of Austria 
against liberty and law, and to omit its bad faith towards brother 
despots. 

Before we go on to speak of the atrocious reign of Philip II. 
over the Netherlands, we will copy a paragraph from Mr. 
Grattan, in which is described the condition of the country at 
the time of his accession, which he introduces with some refer- 
ences to the causes of its prosperity. 

"The amazing increase of commerce was, above all other 
considerations, the cause of the growth of liberty in the Ne- 
therlands. The Reformation opened the minds of men to that 
intellectual freedom, without which political enfranchisement 
is a worthless privilege. The invention of printing opened a 
thousand channels to the flow of erudition and talent, and sent 
them out from the reservoirs of individual possession to ferti- 
lise the whole domain of human nature. War, which seems 
to be an instinct of man, and which particular instances of 
heroism often raise to the dignity of a passion, was reduced to 
a science, and made subservient to those great principles of 
policy in which society began to perceive its only chance of 
durable good. Manufactures attained a state of high perfec- 
tion, and went on progressively with the growth of wealth and 
luxury. The opulence of the towns of Brabant and Flanders 
was without any previous example in the state of Europe. A 
merchant of Bruges took upon himself alone the security 
for the ransom of John the Fearless, taken at the battle of 
Nicopolis, amounting to 200,000 ducats. A provost of Valen- 
ciennes repaired to Paris at one of the great fairs periodically 
held there, and purchased on his own account every article 
that was for sale. At a repast given by one of the counts of 
Flanders to the Flemish magistrates, the seats they occupied 
were unfurnished with cushions. Those proud burghers folded 
their sumptuous cloaks and sat on them. After the feast they 
were retiring without retaining these important and costly 
articles of dress ; and on a courtier reminding them of their 
apparent neglect, the burgomaster of Bruges replied, 'We 
Flemings are not in the habit of carrying away the cushions 
after dinner ! ' The meetings of the different towns for the 
sports of archery were signalised by the most splendid display 



143 

of dress and decoration. The archers were habited in silk, da- 
mask, and the finest linen, and carried chains of gold of great 
weight and value. Luxury was at its height among women. 
The queen of Philip the Fair of France, on a visit to Bruges, ex- 
claimed, with astonishment not unmixed with envy, I thought 
myself the only queen here ; but I see six hundred others who 
appear more so than I. 

"The external relations of the country presented an aspect 
of prosperity and peace. England was closely allied to it by 
queen Mary's marriage with Philip ; France, fatigued with war, 
had just concluded with it a five years' truce ; Germany, para- 
lyzed by religious dissensions, exhausted itself in domestic quar- 
rels ; the other states were too distant or too weak to inspire 
any uneasiness ; and nothing appeared wanting for the public 
weal. Nevertheless there was something dangerous and alarm- 
ing in the situation of the Low Countries ; but the danger con- 
sisted wholly in the connection between the monarch and the 
people, and the alarm was not sounded till the mischief was be- 
yond remedy. 

" Philip had only once visited the Netherlands before his ac- 
cession to sovereign power. Being at that time twenty-two 
years of age, his opinions were formed and his prejudices deep- 
ly rooted. Everything that he observed on this visit was cal- 
culated to revolt both. The frank cordiality of the people ap- 
peared too familiar. The expression of popular rights sounded 
like the voice of rebellion. Even the magnificence displayed 
in his honor offended his jealous vanity. From that moment 
he seems to have conceived an implacable aversion to the coun- 
try, in which alone, of all his vast possessions, he could not dis- 
play the power or inspire the terror of despotism. 

" The sovereign's dislike was fully equalled by the disgust 
of his subjects. His haughty severity and vexatious etiquette 
revolted their pride as well as their plain dealing; and the 
moral qualities of their new sovereign were considered with 
loathing. The commercial and political connection between 
the Netherlands and Spain had given the two people ample 
opportunities for mutual acquaintance. The dark, vindictive 
dispositions of the latter inspired a deep antipathy in those whom 
civilisation had softened and liberty rendered frank and gene- 
rous ; and the new sovereign seemed to embody all that was re- 
pulsive and odious in the nation of which he was the type. 



144 

" Philip knew well that force aloue was insufficient to reduce 
such a people to slavery. He succeeded in persuading the 
states to grant him considerable subsidies, some of which were 
to be paid by instalments during a period of nine years. That 
was gaining a great step towards his designs, as it superseded 
the necessity of a yearly application to the three orders, the 
guardians of the public liberty. At the same time he sent se- 
cret agents to Rome, to obtain the approbation of the pope to 
his insidious but most effective plan for placing the whole of 
the clergy in dependence upon the crown. He also kept up the 
army of Spaniards and Germans which his father had formed 
on the frontiers of France ; and although he did not remove 
from their employments the functionaries already in place, he 
took care to make no new appointments to office among the 
natives of the Netherlands. 

" In the midst of these cunning preparations for tyranny, 
Philip was suddenly attacked in two quarters at once ; by Hen- 
ry II. of France, and by Pope Paul IV." 

The important results of these two wars, the alliance of 
France, and the support of the Pope, results brought about by 
the incredible baseness and hypocrisy of Philip ; together with 
the hostility of Elizabeth of England, which he provoked by 
the treaty of Chateau Cambresis, (1559,) were all made subser- 
vient to the grand design of consolidating despotism in the 
Netherlands. 

u To lead his already deceived subjects the more surely into 
the snare, he announced his intended departure on a short visit 
to Spain ; and created for the period of his absence a provision- 
al government, chiefly composed of the leading men among the 
Belgian nobility. He flattered himself that the states, dazzled 
by the illustrious illusion thus prepared, would cheerfully grant 
to this provisional government the right of levying taxes during 
the temporary absence of the sovereign. He also reckoned on 
the influence of the clergy in the national assembly, to procure 
the revival of the edicts against heresy, which he had gained 
the merit of suspending. These, with many minor details of 
profound duplicity, formed the principal features of a plan, 
which, if successful, would have reduced the Netherlands to the 
wretched state of colonial dependence by which Naples and 
Sicily were held in the tenure of Spain. 



145 

" As soon as the states had consented to place the whole 
powers of government in the hands of the new administration 
for the period of the king's absence, the royal hypocrite believed 
his scheme secure, and flattered himself he had established an 
instrument of durable despotism. The composition of this new 
government was a masterpiece of political machinery. It con- 
sisted of several councils, in which the most distinguished citi- 
zens were entitled to a place, in sufficient numbers to deceive 
the people with a show of representation, but not enough to 
command a majority, which was sure on any important ques- 
tion to rest with the titled creatures of the court. The edicts 
against heresy, soon adopted, gave to the clergy an almost un- 
limited power over the lives and fortunes of the people. But 
almost all the dignitaries of the church being men of great re- 
spectability and moderation, chosen by the body of the inferior 
clergy, these extraordinary powers excited little alarm. Philip's 
project was suddenly to replace these virtuous ecclesiastics by 
others of his own choice, as soon as the states broke up from 
their annual meeting ; and for this intention he had procured 
the secret consent and authority of the court of Rome. 

" In support of these combinations, the Belgian troops were 
completely broken up and scattered in small bodies over the 
country. The whole of this force, so redoubtable to the fears 
of despotism, consisted of only 3000 cavalry. It was now di- 
vided into fourteen companies (or squadrons in the modern 
phraseology,) under the command of as many independent 
chiefs, so as to leave little chance of any principle of union 
reigning among them. But the German and Spanish troops 
in Philip's pay were cantoned on the frontiers, ready to stifle 
any incipient effort in opposition to his plans. In addition to 
these imposing means for their execution, he had secured a 
still more secret and more powerful support ; — a secret article 
in the treaty of Chateau-Cambresis obliged the king of France 
to assist him with the whole armies of France against his Belgian 
subjects, should they prove refractory. Thus the late war, of 
which the Netherlands had borne all the weight, and earned 
all the glory, only brought about the junction of the defeated 
enemy with their own king for the extinction of their national 
independence. 

" To complete the execution of this system of perfidy, Philip 
convened an assembly of all the states at Ghent, in the month 
1 



146 

of July, 1559. This meeting of the representatives of the three 
orders of the state offered no apparent obstacle to Philip's views. 
The clergy, alarmed at the progress of the new doctrines, 
gathered more closely round the government of which they re- 
quired the support. The nobles had lost much of their ancient 
attachment to liberty ; and had become, in various ways, de- 
pendent on the royal favour. Many of the first families were 
then represented by men possessed rather of courage and can- 
dour than of foresight and sagacity. That of Nassau, .the most 
distinguished of all, seemed the least interested in the national 
cause. A great part of its possessions were in Germany and 
France, where it had recently acquired the sovereign princi- 
pality of Orange. It was only from the third order — that of 
the commons — that Philip had to expect any opposition. Al- 
ready, during the war, it had shown some discontent, and had 
insisted on the nomination of commissioners to control the 
accounts and the disbursements of the subsidies. But it seemed 
improbable, that among this class of men, any would be found 
capable of penetrating the manifold combinations of the king, 
and disconcerting his designs. 

" Anthony Perrenotte de Granvelle, bishop of Arras, who was 
considered as Philip's favourite counsellor, but who was in re- 
ality no more than his docile agent, was commissioned to ad- 
dress the assembly in the name of his master, who spoke only 
Spanish. His oration was one of cautious deception, and con- 
tained the most flattering assurances of Philip's attachment to 
the people of the Netherlands. It excused the king for not 
having nominated his only son Don Carlos to reign over them 
in his name ; alleging, as a proof of his royal affection, that he 
preferred giving them as governant a Belgian princess, Madame 
Marguerite, duchess of Parma, the natural daughter of Charles 
V. by a young lady, a native of Audenarde. Fair promises 
and fine words were thus lavished in profusion to gain the con- 
fidence of the deputies. 

"But notwithstanding all the talent, the caution, and the 
mystery of Philip and his minister, there was among the no- 
bles one man who saw through all. This individual, endowed 
with many of the highest attributes of political genius, and 
pre-eminently with judgment, the most important of all, entered, 
fearlessly into the contest against tyranny — despising every 
personal sacrifice for the country's good. Without making 



147 

himself suspiciously prominent, he privately warned some mem- 
bers of the states of the coming danger. Those in whom he 
confided did not betray the trust. They spread among the 
other deputies the alarm, and pointed out the danger to which 
they had been so judiciously awakened. The consequence was, 
a reply to Philip's demand, in vague and general terms, with- 
out binding the nation by any pledge ; and an unanimous en- 
treaty that he would diminish the taxes, withdraw the foreign 
troops, and entrust no official employments to any but natives 
of the country. 

" Philip was utterly astounded at all this. In the first mo- 
ment of his vexation he imprudently cried out, ' Would ye, 
then, also bereave me of my place ; I, who am a Spaniard ? ' 
But he soon recovered his self-command, and resumed his usual 
mask ; expressed his regret at not having sooner learned the 
wishes of the state ; promised to remove the foreign troops 
within three months ; and set off for Zealand, with assumed 
composure, but filled with the fury of a discovered traitor and 
humiliated despot. 

"A fleet under the command of count Horn, the admiral of 
the United Provinces, waited at Flessingue to form his escort 
to Spain. At the very moment of his departure, William of 
Nassau, prince of Orange and governor of Zealand, waited on 
him to pay his official respects. The king, taking him apart 
from the other attendant nobles, recommended him to hasten 
the execution of several gentlemen and wealthy citizens attached 
to the newly introduced religious opinions. Then, quite sud- 
denly, whether in the random impulse of suppressed rage, or 
that his piercing glance discovered William's secret feelings 
in his countenance, he accused him with having been the 
means of thwartingh is designs. ' Sire,' replied Nassau, ' it 
was the work of the national states.' — ' No ! ' cried Philip, 
grasping him furiously by the arm ; * it was not done by the 
states, but by you, and you alone !' " 

" This glorious accusation was not repelled. He who had 
saved his country in unmasking the designs of its tyrant, ad- 
mitted by his silence his title to the hatred of the one and the 
gratitude of the other. On the 20th of August, Philip em- 
barked and set sail ; turning his back for ever on the country 
which offered the first check to his despotism ; and, after a per- 



148 

ilous voyage, he arrived in that which permitted a free indul- 
gence to his ferocious and sanguinary career. 

" For some time after Philip's departure, the Netherlands con- 
tinued to enjoy considerable prosperity. From the period of 
the peace of Chateau-Cambresis, commerce and navigation had 
acquired new and increasing activity. The fisheries, but parti- 
cularly that of herrings, became daily more important ; that 
one alone occupying 2000 boats. While Holland, Zealand, and 
Friesland made this progress in their peculiar branches of in- 
dustry, the southern provinces were not less active or success- 
ful. Spain and the colonies offered such a mart for the ob- 
jects of their manufacture, that in a single year they received 
from Flanders fifty large ships, filled with articles of household 
furniture and utensils. The exportation of woollen goods 
amounted to enormous sums. Bruges alone sold annually to 
the amount of 4,000,000 florins of stuffs of Spanish, and as 
much of English, wool ; and the least value of the florin then 
was quadruple its present worth. The commerce with Eng- 
land, though less important than that with Spain, was calculat- 
ed yearly at 24,000,000 florins, which was chiefly clear profit 
to the Netherlands, as their exportations consisted almost en- 
tirely of objects of their own manufacture. Their commercial 
relations with France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the Le- 
vant, were daily increasing. Antwerp was the centre of this 
prodigious trade. Several sovereigns, among others Elizabeth 
of England, had recognized agents in that city, equivalent to 
consuls of the present times ; and loans of immense amount 
were frequently negotiated by them with wealthy merchants, 
who furnished them, not in negotiable bills or for unredeemable 
debentures, but in solid gold, and on a simple acknowledgment. 

" Flanders and Brabant were still the richest and most flour- 
ishing portions of the state. Some municipal fetes given about 
this time afford a notion of their opulence. On one of these 
occasions the town of Mechlin sent a deputation to Antwerp, 
consisting of 326 horsemen dressed in velvet and satin with 
gold and silver ornaments ; while those of Brussels consisted 
of 340 as splendidly equipped, and accompanied by seven 
huge triumphal chariots and seventy-eight carriages of various 
constructions, — a prodigious number for those days." 

We cannot give a complete account of the contest which 
Philip III. waged with the people of these rich and free pro- 



149 

vinces. That contest brought before the world the consummate 
ability and virtue of the first William of Orange, who at an 
early day penetrated, as we have seen, the designs of the tyrant, 
and until the unfortunate day in which he was murdered 
by the third assassin whom Philip had educated for the pur- 
pose, stood for the rights of his nation, glorious both in victory 
and defeat. We will make a few extracts to show the charac- 
ter of the events, happy if we succeed in sending our readers 
to study out all the details in Schiller's Revolt of the Nether- 
lands, and Mr. Grattan's more extensive history of the country 
from its origin to the battle of Waterloo. 

"The new bishops were to a man most violent, intolerant, 
and it may be conscientious, opponents to the wide-spreading 
doctrines of reform. The execution of the edicts against heresy 
was confided to them. The provincial governors and inferior 
magistrates were commanded to aid them with a strong arm ; 
and the most unjust and frightful persecution immediately com- 
menced. But still some of these governors and magistrates, 
considering themselves not only the officers of the prince, but 
the protectors of the people, and the defenders of the laws ra- 
ther than of the faith, did not blindly conform to those harsh 
and illegal commands. The prince of Orange, stadtholder of 
Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht, and count of Egmont, governor 
of Flanders and Artois, permitted no persecutions in those five 
provinces. But in various places the very people, even when 
influenced by their superiors, openly opposed it. Catholics as 
well as Protestants were indignant at the atrocious spectacles 
of cruelty presented on all sides. The public peace was en- 
dangered by isolated acts of resistance, and fears of a general 
insurrection soon became universal. 

" The public fermentation subsided ; the patriot lords re-ap- 
peared at court; and the prince of Orange acquired an in- 
creasing influence in the council and over the government, who 
by his advice adopted a conciliatory line of conduct — a fallacious 
but still a temporary hope for the nation. But the calm was 
of short duration. Scarcely was this moderation evinced by 
the government, when Philip, obstinate in his designs, and 
outrageous in his resentment, sent an order to have the edicts 
against heresy put into most rigorous execution, and to pro- 
claim throughout the seventeen provinces the furious decree of 
the council of Trent. 



150 

" Not satisfied with the hitherto established forms of punish- 
ment, Philip now expressly commanded that the more revolting 
means decreed by his father in the rigour of his early zeal, such 
as burning, living burial, and the like, should be adopted ; and 
he somewhat more obscurely directed that the victims should 
be no longer publicly immolated, but secretly destroyed. He 
endeavoured, by this vague phraseology, to avoid the actual 
utterance of the word inquisition ; but he thus virtually estab- 
lished that atrocious tribunal, with attributes still more terrific 
than even in Spain ; for there the condemned had at least the 
consolation of dying in open day, and of displaying the forti- 
tude which is rarely proof against the horror of a private exe- 
cution. Philip had thus consummated his treason against the 
principles of justice and the practices of jurisprudence, which 
had heretofore characterized the country ; and against the most 
vital of those privileges which he had solemnly sworn to main- 
tain. 

"His design of establishing this horrible tribunal so impiously 
named holy by its founders, had been long suspected by the 
people of the Netherlands. The expression of those fears had 
reached him more than once. He as often replied by assur- 
ances that he had formed no such project, and particularly to 
count d'Eo-mont during his recent visit to Madrid. But at the 
very time he assembled a conclave of his creatures, doctors of 
theology, of whom he formally demanded an opinion as to 
whether he could conscientiously tolerate two sorts of religion 
in the Netherlands. The doctors, hoping to please him, replied, 
that ' he might, for the avoidance of a greater evil.' Philip 
trembled with rage, and exclaimed, with a threatening tone, 
* I ask not if I can, but if I ought? The theologians read in 
this question the nature of the expected reply ; and it was am- 
ply conformable to his wish. He immediately threw himself 
on his knees before a crucifix, and raising his hands towards 
heaven, put up a prayer for strength in his resolution to pur- 
sue as deadly enemies all who viewed that effigy with feelings 
different from his own. If this were not really a sacrilegious 
farce, it must be that the blaspheming bigot believed the Deity 
to be a monster of cruelty like himself. 

"And now in reality began the awful revolution of the 
Netherlands against their tyrant. In a few years this so lately 
flourishing and happy nation presented a frightful picture ; and 



151 

in the midst of European peace, prosperity, aud civilization, 
the wickedness of one prince drew down on the country he 
misgoverned more evils than it had suffered for centuries from 
the worst effects of his foreign foes. 

"The confederation acquired its perfect organization in the 
month of February, 1566, on the 10th of which month its cele- 
brated manifeslo was signed by its numerous adherents. 

" This remarkable proclamation of general feeling consisted 
chiefly in a powerful reprehension of the illegal establishment 
of the inquisition in the Low Countries, and a solemn obliga- 
tion on the members of the confederacy to unite in the com- 
mon cause against this detested nuisance. Men of all ranks 
and classes offered their signatures, and several Catholic priests 
among the rest. 

" Even while the council of state held its sittings, the report 
was spread through Brussels, that the confederates were ap- 
proaching. And at length they did enter the city, to the 
amount of some hundreds of the representatives of the first 
families in the country. On the following day, the 5th of 
April, 1556, they walked in solemn procession to the palace. 
Their demeanour was highly imposing, from their mingled air 
of forbearance and determination. All Brussels thronged out, 
to gaze and sympathise with this extraordinary spectacle of 
men whose resolute step showed they were no common sup- 
pliants, but whose modest bearing had none of the seditious air 
of faction. The government received the distinguished peti- 
tioners with courtesy, listened to their detail of grievances, and 
returned a moderate, conciliatory, but evasive answer. 

" Having presented two subsequent remonstrances to the 
government, and obtained some consoling promises of modera- 
tion, the chief confederates quitted Brussels, leaving several di- 
rectors to sustain their cause in the capital ; while they them- 
selves spread into the various provinces, exciting the people to 
join the legal and constitutional resistance with which they 
were resolved to oppose the march of bigotry and despotism. 

" The confederation gained ground every day. Its measures 
had totally changed the face of affairs in all parts of the nation. 
The general discontent now acquired stability, and subsequent 
importance. The chief merchants of many of the towns en- 
rolled themselves in the patriot band." 



152 

The result of these first measures was a deputation from Mar- 
guerite to Philip, praying for redress of the grievances named 
by the confederation ; and even Philip's Spanish Councillors 
advised gentleness and the abolition of the Inquisition. 

" The king's first care on receiving this advice was to order, in 
all the principal towns of Spain and the Netherlands, prayer 
and processions, to implore the divine approbation on the reso- 
lutions which he had formed. He appeared then in person at 
the council of state, and issued a decree, by which he refused 
his consent to the convocation of the states-general, and bound 
himself to take several German regiments into his pay. He 
ordered the duchess of Parma, by a private letter, to immedi- 
ately cause to be raised 3000 cavalry and 10,000 foot, and he 
remitted to her for this purpose 300,000 florins gold. He next 
wrote with his own hand to several of his partisans in the vari- 
ous towns, encouraging them in their fidelity to his purposes, 
and promising them his support. He rejected the adoption of 
the moderation recommended to him ; but he consented to the 
abolition of the inquisition in its most odious sense, reestablish- 
ing that modified species of ecclesiastical tyranny which had 
been introduced into the Netherlands by Charles V. The peo- 
ple of that devoted country were thus successful in obtaining 
one important concession from the king, and in meeting unex- 
pected consideration from this Spanish council. Whether these 
measures had been calculated with a view to their failure, it is 
not now easy to determine ; at all events they came too late. 
When Philip's letters reached Brussels, the iconoclasts or image- 
breakers were abroad. 

" It requires no profound research to comprehend the im- 
pulse which leads a horde of fanatics to the most monstrous 
excesses. That the deeds of the iconoclasts arose from the 
spontaneous outburst of mere vulgar fury, admits of no doubt. 
The aspersion which would trace those deeds to the meeting 
of St. Trond, and fix the infamy on the body of nobility there 
assembled, is scarcely worthy of refutation. The very lowest 
of the people were the actors as well as the authors of the out- 
rages, which were at once shocking to every friend of liberty, 
and injurious to that sacred cause. Artois and western Flan- 
ders were the scenes of the first exploits of the iconoclasts. A 
band of peasants, intermixed with beggars and various other 
vagabonds, to the amount of about 300, urged by fanaticism 



153 

and those baser passions which animate every lawless body of 
men, armed with hatchets, clubs, and hammers, forced open the 
doors of some of the village churches in the neighbourhood of 
St. Omer, and tore down and destroyed not only the images 
and relics of saints, but those very ornaments which Christians 
of all sects hold sacred, and essential to the most simple rites 
of religion. 

" The cities of Ypres, Lille, and other places of importance, 
were soon subject to similar visitations ; and the whole of Flan- 
ders was in a few days ravaged by furious multitudes, whose 
frantic energy spread terror and destruction on their route. Ant- 
werp was protected for a while by the presence of the prince of 
Orange ; but an order from the government having obliged 
him to repair to Brussels, a few nights after his departure the 
celebrated cathedral shared the fate of many a minor temple, 
and was utterly pillaged. The blind fury of the spoilers was 
not confined to the mere effigies which they considered the 
types of idolatry, nor even to the pictures, the vases, the sixty- 
six altars, and their richly wrought accessories ; but it was 
equally fatal to the splendid organ, which was considered the 
finest at that time in existence. The rapidity and the order 
with which this torchlight scene was acted, without a single 
accident among the numerous doers, has excited the wonder 
of almost all its early historians. One of them does not hesitate 
to ascribe the ' miracle' to the absolute agency of demons. For 
three days and nights these revolting scenes were acted, and 
every church in the city shared the fate of the cathedral, which, 
next to St. Peter's at Rome, was the most magnificent in Chris- 
tendom. 

" Ghent, Tournay, Valenciennes, Mechlin, and other cities, 
were next the theatres of similar excesses ; and in an incredi- 
bly short space of time above 400 churches were pillaged in 
Flanders and Brabant. Zealand, Utrecht, and others of the 
northern provinces, suffered more or less ; Friesland, Guelders, 
and Holland alone escaped, and even the latter but in partial 
instances. 

" These terrible scenes extinguished every hope of reconcili- 
ation with the king. An inveterate and interminable hatred 
was now established between him and the people ; for the 
whole nation was identified with deeds which were in reality 
only shared by the most base, and were loathsome to all who 
1* 



154 

were enlightened. It was in vain that the patriot nobles might 
hope or strive to exculpate themselves ; they were sure to be 
held criminal either in fact or by implication. No show of 
loyalty, no efforts to restore order, no personal sacrifice, could 
save them from the hatred or screen them from the vengeance 
of Philip. 

" The affright of the government during the short reign of 
anarchy and terror was without bounds. 

" Necessity now extorted almost every concession which had 
been so long denied to justice and prudence. The confederates 
were declared absolved from all responsibility relative to their 
proceedings. The suppression of the inquisition, the abolition of 
the edicts against heresy, and a permission for the preachings, 
were simultaneously published. 

" Philip was ill at Segovia when he received accounts of the 
excesses of the image-breakers, and of the convention concluded 
with the heretics. Dispatches from the government, with pri- 
vate advices from Viglius, Egmont, Mansfield, Megham, de 
Berlaimont, and others, gave him ample information as to the 
real state of things, and they thus strove to palliate their hav- 
ing acceded to the convention. The emperor even wrote to 
his royal nephew, imploring him to treat his wayward subjects 
with moderation, and offered his mediation between them." 

But all was in vain. Philip proceeded with his usual dis- 
simulation. His artifices succeeded in disuniting the Protest- 
ants, but hostilities commenced, and there were victories and 
losses on both sides ; new preliminaries of reconciliation, falsely 
intended, and resulting only in the self-banishment of the pa- 
triot lords and an immense emigration ; until at last Philip fully 
developed his plans by sending Alva to supersede Marguerite. 

"On the 5th May, 1567, this celebrated captain, whose repu- 
tation was so quickty destined to sink into the notoriety of an 
executioner, began his memorable march ; and on the 2 2d of 
August, he, with his two natural sons, and his veteran army 
consisting of about 15,000 men, arrived at the walls of Brus- 
sels. The discipline observed on this march was a terrible fore- 
warning to the people of the Netherlands of the influence of 
the general and the obedience of the troops. They had little 
chance of resistance against such soldiers so commanded. 

" Several of the Belgian nobility went forward to meet Alva, 
to render him the accustomed honours, and endeavour thus early 



155 

to gain his good graces. Among them was the infatuated Eg- 
mont, who made a present to Alva of two superb horses, which 
the latter received with a disdainful air of condescension. Alva's 
first care was the distribution of his troops — several thousands 
of whom were placed in Antwerp, Ghent, and other important 
towns, and the remainder reserved under his own immediate 
orders at Brussels. His approach was celebrated by universal 
terror; and his arrival was thoroughly humiliating to the 
duchess of Parma. He immediately produced his commission 
as commander-in-chief of the royal armies in the Netherlands ; 
but he next showed her another, which confided to him powers 
infinitely more extended than any Marguerite herself had en- 
joyed, and which proved to her that the almost sovereign power 
over the country was virtually vested in him. 

" Alva first turned his attention to the seizure of those patri- 
ot lords whose pertinacious infatuation left them within his 
reach. He summoned a meeting of all the members of the 
council of state and the knights of the order of the Golden 
Fleece, to deliberate on matters of great importance. Counts 
Egmont and Horn attended, among many others ; and at the 
conclusion of the council they were both arrested (some histo- 
rians assert by the hands of Alva and his eldest son), as was 
also Van Straeten, burgomaster of Antwerp, and Casambrot, 
Egmont's secretary. The young count of Mansfield appeared 
for a moment at this meeting ; but, warned by his father of the 
fate intended him, as an original member of the confederation, 
he had time to fly. The count of Hoogstraeten was happily 
detained by illness, and thus escaped the fate of his friends. 
Egmont and Horn were transferred to the citadel of Ghent, un- 
der an escort of 3000 Spanish soldiers. Several other persons 
of the first families were arrested ; and those who had originally 
been taken in arms were executed without delay. 

"The next measures of the new governor were the reestab- 
lishment of the inquisition, the promulgation of the decrees of 
the council of Trent, the revocation of the duchess of Parma's 
edicts, and the royal refusal to recognize the terms of her trea- 
ties with the Protestants. He immediately established a spe- 
cial tribunal, composed of twelve members, with full powers to 
inquire into and pronounce judgment on every circumstance 
connected with the late troubles. He named himself president 
of this council, and appointed a Spaniard, named Vargas, as 



156 

vice-president — a wretch of the most diabolical cruelty. Seve- 
ral others of the judges were also Spaniards, in direct infrac- 
tion of the fundamental laws of the country. This council, 
immortalized by its infamy, was named by the new governor (for 
so Alva was in fact, though not yet in name), the Council of 
Troubles. By the people it was soon designated the Council of 
Blood. In its atrocious proceedings no respect was paid to ti- 
tles, contracts, or privileges, however sacred. Its judgments 
were without appeal. Every subject of the state was amenable 
to its summons ; clergy and laity, the first individuals of the 
country, as well as the most wretched outcasts of society. Its 
decrees were passed with disgusting rapidity and contempt of 
form. Contumacy was punished with exile and confiscation. 
Those who, strong in innocence, dared to brave a trial, were 
lost without resource. The accused were forced to its bar with- 
out previous warning. Many a wealthy citizen was dragged to 
trial four leagues' distance, tied to a horse's tail. The number 
of victims was appalling. On one occasion, the town of Valen- 
ciennes alone saw fifty-five of its citizens fall by the hands of 
the executioner. Hanging, beheading, quartering, and burning, 
were the every-day spectacles. The enormous confiscations 
only added to the thirst for gold and blood by which Alva and 
his satellites were parched. History offers no example of par- 
allel horrors : for while party vengeance on other occasions had 
led to scenes of fury and terror, they arose, in this instance, 
from the vilest cupidity and the most cold-blooded cruelty. 

" After three months of such atrocity, Alva, fatigued rather 
than satiated with butchery, resigned his hateful functions 
wholly into the hands of Vargas, w r ho was chiefly aided by the 
members Delrio and Dela Torre. Even at this remote period 
we cannot repress the indignation excited by the mention of 
those monsters, and it is impossible not to feel satisfaction in 
fixing upon their names the brand of historic execration. One 
of these wretches, called Hesselts, used at length to sleep dur- 
ing the mock trials of the already doomed victims; and as 
often as he was roused up by his colleagues, he used to cry out 
mechanically, " To the gibbet ! to the gibbet ! " so familiar was 
his tongue with the sounds of condemnation. 

" The despair of the people may be imagined from the fact, 
that until the end of the year 1567 their only consolation was 
the prospect of the king's arrival ! He never dreamt of com- 



157 

ing. Even the delight of feasting in horrors like these could 
not conquer his indolence. The good duchesfc of Parma, — for 
so she was in comparison with her successor, — was not long 
left to oppose the feeble barrier of her prayers between Alva 
and his victims. She demanded her dismissal from the nomi- 
nal dignity, which was now but a title of disgrace. Philip 
granted it readily, accompanied by a hypocritical letter, a pre- 
sent of 30,000 crowns, and the promise of an annual pension 
of 20,000 more. She left Brussels in the month of April, 1568, 
raised to a high place in the esteem and gratitude of the people, 
less by any actual claims from her own conduct, than by its 
fortuitous contrast with the infamy of her successor. She re- 
tired to Italy, and died at Naples in the month of February, 1586. 

" In addition to the horrors acted by the Council of Blood, 
Alva committed many deeds of collateral but minor tyranny : 
among others, he issued a decree forbidding, under severe pen- 
alties, any inhabitant of the country to marry without his ex- 
press permission. His furious edicts against emigration were 
attempted to be enforced in vain. Elizabeth of England opened 
all the ports of her kingdom to the Flemish refugees, who car- 
ried with them those abundant stores of manufacturing know- 
ledge which she wisely knew to be the elements of national 
wealth. 

" Alva soon summoned the prince of Orange, his brothers, 
and all the confederate lords, to appear before the council and 
answer to the charge of high treason. The prince gave a 
prompt and contemptuous answer, denying the authority of 
Alva and his council, and acknowledging for his judges only 
the emperor, whose vassal he was, or the king of Spain in per- 
son, as president of the order of the Golden Fleece. The other 
lords made replies nearly similar. The trials of each were, 
therefore, proceeded on, by contumacy ; confiscation of pro- 
perty being an object almost as dear to the tyrant viceroy as 
the death of his victims. Judgments were promptly pronounced 
against those present or absent, alive or dead. Witness the 
case of the unfortunate marquess of Bergues, who had pre- 
viously expired at Madrid, as was universally believed, by poi- 
son; and his equally ill-fated colleague in the embassy, the 
baron Montigny, was for a while imprisoned at Segovia, where 
he was soon after secretly beheaded, on the base pretext of 
former disaffection. 



158 

" The departure of the duchess of Parma having left Alva 
undisputed as well as unlimited authority, he proceeded rapidly 
in his terrible career. The count of Beuren was seized at Lou- 
vain, and sent prisoner to Madrid ; and wherever it was pos- 
sible to lay hands on a suspected patriot, the occasion was not 
neglected. It would be a revolting task to enter into a minute 
detail of all the horrors committed, and impossible to record the 
names of the victims who so quickly fell before Alva's insatiate 
cruelty. The people were driven to frenzy. Bands of wretches 
fled to the woods and marshes ; whence, half famished and 
perishing for want, they revenged themselves with pillage and 
murder. Pirates infested and ravaged the coast; and thus, 
from both sea and land, the whole extent of the Netherlands 
was devoted to carnage and ruin. The chronicles of Brabant 
and Holland, chiefly written in Flemish by contemporary au- 
thors, abound in thrilling details of the horrors of this general 
desolation, with long lists of those who perished. Suffice it to 
say, that on the recorded boast of Alva himself, he caused 
18,000 inhabitants of the Low Countries to perish by the hands 
of the executioner, during his less than six years' sovereignty 
in the Netherlands. 

" The most important of these tragical scenes was now soon 
to be acted. The counts Egmont and Horn, having submitted 
to some previous interrogatories by Vargas and others, were 
removed from Ghent to Brussels, on the 3d of June, under a 
strong escort. The following day they passed through the 
mockery of a trial before the Council of Blood ; and on the 5 th, 
they were both beheaded in the great square of Brussels, in the 
presence of Alva, who gloated on the spectacle from a balcony 
that commanded the execution. The same day Vanstraelen 
and Casambrot shared the fate of their illustrious friends, in 
the castle of Vilvorde, with many others, whose names only 
find a place in the local chronicles of the times." 

All Europe at last burst out into execration and remonstrance, 
and an army was raised in Germany, which William of Orange 
headed, but which, after some victories, was dispersed by Alva. 
A frightful inundation aided him ; for " no suffering could 
affect his inflexible sternness ; and to such excess did he carry 
his persecution, that Philip himself began to be discontented, 
and reproached him sharply in some of his despatches. The 



159 

governor replied in the same strain, and such was the effect of 
this correspondence, that Philip resolved to remove him." 

We will not follow the history through the short term of 
Requesens's rule, or even through that of Don John of Austria, 
and of the Prince of Parma, though the latter would be well 
suited to our purpose. The happiest result of Philip's obsti- 
nacy was the Declaration of National Independence by the 
States-General, assembled at Antwerp, who, after one or two 
trials of other princes, at length conferred the Sovereignty on 
the Prince of Orange. 

In the end, the independence of Holland was maintained ; but 
Philip conferred on Albert of Austria, and Isabella, the sover- 
eignty of the reconciled southern provinces. Grattan gives a 
picture of the country at this time, which contrasts mournfully 
with the one given of it thirty years before. 

" The reconciled provinces presented the most deplorable 
spectacle. The chief towns were almost depopulated. The in- 
habitants had in a great measure fallen victims to war, pesti- 
lence, and famine. Little inducement existed to replace by 
marriage the ravages caused by death, for few men wished to 
propagate a race which divine wrath seemed to have marked 
for persecution. The thousands of villages which had covered 
the face of the country were absolutely abandoned to the wolves, 
which had so rapidly increased, that they attacked not merely 
cattle and children, but grown-up persons. The dogs, driven 
abroad by hunger, had become as ferocious as other beasts of 
prey, and joined in large packs to hunt down brutes and men. 
Neither fields, nor woods, nor roads, were now to be distin- 
guished by any visible limits. All was an entangled mass of 
trees, weeds, and grass. The prices of the necessaries of life 
were so high, that people of rank, after selling every thing to 
buy bread, were obliged to have recourse to open beggary in 
the streets of the great towns. 

" From this frightful picture, and the numerous details which 
imagination may readily supply, we gladly turn to the contrast 
afforded by the northern states. Those we have just described 
have a feeble hold upon our sympathies ; we cannot pronounce 
their sufferings to be unmerited. The want of firmness or en- 
lightenment, which preferred such an existence to the risk of en- 
tire destruction, only heightens the glory of the people whose 



160 

unyielding energy and courage gained them so proud a place 
among the independent nations of Europe." 

The assassination of the noble William of Orange, at the 
instigation of Philip, forms a fitting crime with which to close 
this section of the subject. 

But before leaving the subject of the Netherlands, we must 
speak of one more passage of its history, viz : that which is 
connected with the name of Joseph II. 

In the mean time, if it did, by its own internal energies, re- 
cover somewhat from the condition in which Philip II. left it, 
it had suffered through its connection with Austria, all the 
horrors of being the battle-ground of the rival houses of Bour- 
bon and Hapsburgh, especially during the disastrous ten years 
of the War of Succession, in Spain. 

With Joseph IL. a new species of oppression commenced. 
This emperor's character has been made the subject of a great 
deal of disquisition. He is the first, the only monarch of his 
race who ever seems to have entertained in his brain, the idea 
of a duty owing from a monarch to the nations under his 
sway ; if indeed it were not after all rather a notion of the 
free grace of benevolence, that impelled him to make a plan of 
benefiting the people, under him by a new organization of the 
large part of Europe which the centralising selfishness and ra- 
pacity of his ancestors had connected into a heterogenoeous 
whole. But it is a very different thing to have an idea of re- 
form, whether it calls itself duty or beneficence, and to have 
the character of a reformer. Out of the heart are the issues of 
life. Even Coxe (the apologist of the House of Austria, al- 
though he admits the facts which make against that aim of 
his work and which have been so largely quoted in this vol- 
ume) says, in the very chapter in which he speaks of the spe- 
cific reforms of Joseph, and among many others of his aboli- 
tion of useless tribunals and feudal offices, which were dila- 
tory and oppressive, "he yet introduced a still greater evil, by 
making the basis of the administration, the absolute will of 
the sovereign, from ivhich there could be no appeal." 

Here Coxe strikes upon the Hapsburghs, the character in 
the blood, (or is it in the spiritual tradition of families ?) With- 
out supposing Joseph consciously insincere in his idea of reform, 
beneficence, or duty ; yet here we see that he was incapable of 
the principle, no less from personal character than from the 



161 

falseness of his position. He said that his " greatest honour 
would be to reign over freemen," * but the point he could 
not give up was precisely that of " reigning," and to reign over 
freemen is reductio ad absurdum. Joseph never used the word 
reign in a limited sense. It is only possible, in this work, to 
give one illustration of Joseph's character as a reformer and 
promoter of the welfare of his subjects. We shall give it in 
the words of Coxe himself, that no one may say it is the one- 
sided view of a republican, who is acting the part of an advo- 
cate rather than of an historian. We give the whole of Coxe's 
hundred and twenty-ninth chapter. 

" That rich and fertile territory, usually known by the sy- 
nonymous appellations of the Netherlands and the Low Coun- 
tries, formed part of the vast dominions which had been at- 
tached to the Spanish monarchy. Conquered by the joint forces 
of the Maritime Powers, it was transferred, at the peace of 
Utrecht, under their guaranty, to the house of Austria, on con- 
dition that the ancient laws, customs, and constitutions should 
be inviolably preserved. The late emperor, Charles VI, was 
inaugurated on these terms. His daughter, Maria Theresa, en- 
tered into similar engagements on her accession ; but during 
her reign some changes, with the consent, if not at the request, 
of the states, were introduced in the mode of representation in 
Brabant, and in the system of taxation. Joseph gave the same 
solemn sanction to the existing constitution. 

"Perhaps there was no country on the surface of the globe 
so small in extent, under the government of one prince, of which 
the component parts differed so widely in manners, govern- 
ment, and laws. Each of the provinces not only formed a sepa- 
rate sovereignty, enjoying a peculiar constitution, but the same 
variation extended to the cities and districts. In most of the 
provinces the rights and privileges were founded on tradition 
or prescription ; but in Brabant and Limburgh they were de- 
tailed in a charter called La Joyeuse Entree, which contained 
fifty-nine articles, a collection of ancient usages and immunities 
granted by the former dukes of Brabant. The sovereign was 
restrained from conferring charges on any except natives, no 
inhabitant was to be tried out of the country, and full liberty 
of speech was to be allowed in the assembly of the states, with 

* Coxe, Chap, xxoiv. 



162 

many other privileges ; the charter was also concluded with a 
declaration similar to the celebrated clause in the coronation 
oath of Andrew II., king of Hungary, that if the sovereign 
should cease to observe the articles, his subjects should also 
cease to obey him, until the breaches in the constitution were 
repaired, and the immunities restored. 

" The power of the clergy was almost unbounded ; the hier- 
archy consisted of one archbishop and seven bishops ; there 
were also a hundred and eight abbeys, each endowed with 
annual revenues from 60,000 to 300,000 florins, numerous 
convents, and the number of religious persons, regular and 
secular, of both sexes, amounted to 30,000. The clergy pos- 
sessed a considerable part of the landed property, and being 
the first order of the states, were enabled to relieve themselves 
from a considerable part of the public burdens, by fixing the 
land-tax at a low rate, and throwing the imposts on articles of 
consumption. 

" Their predominant influence was extended by the system 
of public education, which was subjected to the immediate con- 
trol of the hierarchy. The university of Louvain had long 
been celebrated for its numerous and richly-endowed colleges, 
and was formerly distinguished for learning and discipline. It 
possessed extraordinary privileges, with the patronage of nume- 
rous benefices, both in the Netherlands and in the bishopric of 
Liege ; and above all, its academical honours were indispensa- 
ble qualifications for the possession of every civil and ecclesi- 
astical office. The members devoted to the papal see, main- 
tained a blind adherence to the system of the ancient school- 
men, and proscribed all innovations adopted in other semina- 
ries. 

" In this country, and among a people so tenacious of their 
customs, liberties, and religion, Joseph did not merely attempt 
to reform abuses and lop superfluous branches, but even laid 
the axe to the root of the constitution itself. He purposed to 
force on the natives what he termed a simple and efficient form 
of government, and to establish yearly the same system of ec- 
clesiastical polity, finance, and jurisprudence, as he had intro- 
duced into his hereditary countries. He commenced his inno- 
vations at an early period of his reign by abolishing several 
convents, prohibiting processions, jubilees, and confraternities, 
and removing statues, images, and offerings from the churches. 



163 

" But in 1786 his plans were fully developed. He reformed 
the system of public education, by abrogating the privileges 
of the university of Lou vain, and instituting a new seminary 
for the study of theology, over which he placed foreigners as 
directors, independent of the control of the bishops, and at 
which he ordered all youths destined for the church to pursue 
their studies. The innovation was vehemently opposed, and in 
December, 1786, gave rise to a tumult among the students,, 
which was not suppressed without a military force. The arch' 
bishop of Mechlin, who took an active part, was summoned to 
Vienna, and the papal nuncio, who had countenanced the op- 
position to the imperial decrees, was abruptly ordered to quit 
the Netherlands. This attempt was followed by similar changes 
in the civil government. 

" The abolition of their venerated constitution excited univer- 
sal indignation and alarm among the people of the Netherlands. 
The clergy and laity formed a common cause for mutual secu- 
rity. Brabant became the focus of opposition ; the states, in 
the terms of their constitution, refused to grant the customary 
subsidies, until their grievances were redressed ; they forbade 
the collectors of the revenue to acknowledge the authority of 
the new intendants, and presented a spirited remonstrance to 
the governors-general. They suppressed also the new semi- 
nary at Louvain, dismissed the foreign professors, invited the 
other states to form a general confederacy, and claimed the 
guaranty of foreign- powers, particularly of France. Their ex- 
ample was followed by the other provinces. Tumults burst forth 
in different places, the populace assumed the national cockade 
in imitation of the French, and the aspect of the whole country 
portended an insurrection. 

"On the 28th of May, 1787, Joseph received the first ac- 
count of the tumults at Pereslaf, as he was preparing to cross 
the Dnieper. But infatuated with his plans, despising the 
danger, and employed in paying court to Catherine, he slighted 
the intelligence, and gave orders that no letters should be for- 
warded to him during the journey. He determined, however, 
to pursue rigorous measures, and in answer to strong represen- 
tations in favour of lenity and caution, replied, " the flame of 
rebellion can only be extinguished by blood." On his return 
to Pereslaf, he learnt with astonishment and agitation the pro- 
gress of the insurrection ; and after taking a hasty leave of 



164 

Catherine, returned to Vienna in the beginning of July. New 
mortifications awaited his arrival. He was thunderstruck with 
the intelligence that the Flemings, instead of awaiting the re- 
peal of the obnoxious edicts, had risen in arms, and obtained 
concessions from the governors-general ; and that prince Kau- 
nitz had not only approved these lenient measures, but pledged 
himself for the acquiescence of his sovereign. 

" Joseph highly reprobated the conduct of the governors- 
general, and of his minister, as feeble and pusillanimous, and 
expressed his inflexible resolution to enforce the execution of 
his plans. He ordered troops to march to the Netherlands ; 
summoned the governors-general and count Belgiojoso to Vi- 
enna ; and at the same time despatched an angry mandate to 
the contumacious states, commanding them, as a mark of obe- 
dience, to submit their complaints, and apologise for their mis- 
conduct at the foot of the throne. 

" The states did not refuse to give the required proof of 
obedience, but charged their deputies to express the loyalty of 
the nation and represent its grievances. On the 15th of Au- 
gust they were admitted to an audience, and their chief ad- 
dressed the emperor in a speech replete with professions of 
loyalty, accompanied with firmness and spirit ; and, at the 
conclusion, they were permitted to read the list of their griev- 
ances. 

" The emperor, who had scarcely restrained his indignation 
during the recital, replied sternly: 'The great dissatisfaction 
which I feel from all the late proceedings in my Belgic pro- 
vinces cannot be effaced by a vain parade of words : nothing 
but a series of actions can prove the sincerity of your profes- 
sions. I have charged prince Kaunitz to communicate to you 
in writing, for the information of the states, certain articles, the 
execution of which must precede any deliberation. Your in- 
stant and entire obedience is not only necessary to restore all 
things to their proper order, but to put a stop to the present 
interruption of commerce. I give you daily proofs that the 
good of my subjects is the sole object of all my actions, and 
you must be convinced that I have no thought of overturning 
your constitution, as in the moment of your greatest outrages, 
and when you have deserved my utmost indignation, with all 
the power which I possess, I only reiterate to you my assurances 
that I will preserve your liberties.' 



165 

" The conditions announced with this parade of liberality, 
comprised the restoration of all innovations, the payment of 
the subsidies, and the revocation of all orders issued by the 
states contrary to the views of the sovereign. In case of an 
immediate compliance, the emperor promised that the ancient 
tribunals and administration of justice should be restored, that 
the intendancies should not be established, nor the abbeys de- 
prived of their privileges. He promised also that the territo- 
rial impost of forty per cent., and the military conscription 
should not be introduced into the Netherlands. 

" Promises so vague, accompanied by demands so contradic- 
tory, did not satisfy the Belgic states, and they announced their 
resolution not to comply with the preliminary articles without 
full security for the redress of their grievances. But while the 
people were expecting the march of the imperial troops, and 
were making preparations for resistance, a sudden change took 
place in the conduct of Joseph. As he could not venture to 
drive his subjects of the Netherlands to desperation while em- 
barrassed with the Turkish war, he endeavoured to attain by 
artifice what he could not effect by force. He therefore treated 
the deputies with the greatest condescension, and affected a 
willingness to accede to most of their demands. These con- 
cessions produced the desired effect, and the objects in dispute 
were amicably arranged. The states announced their compli- 
ance with the wishes of their sovereign, the volunteers laid 
down their arms, and, in return, the march of the imperial 
troops was countermanded. Count Murray issued the edict 
which suppressed the new ordinances, and promised that con- 
ferences should be held with the states, to adjust the subjects 
remaining in dispute. 

" These measures occasioned a temporary restoration of tran- 
quillity. But it was soon evident that Joseph only suspended 
his projects to deceive his subjects. He dismissed Count Mur- 
ray, who had tranquillised the minds of the people. The army 
in the Netherlands was silently augmented, and the command 
intrusted to general d' Alton, a man of undaunted and inflex- 
ible temper, united to the spirit of a rigid disciplinarian. Count 
Trautmansdorf was appointed minister plenipotentiary ad in- 
terim, with instructions which proved the views and insincerity 
of the emperor. He was ordered to consider the declaration 
of count Murray as extorted by fear, and consequently invalid ; 



166 

to hold no conference with the states on the subjects in dis- 
pute ; to remove gradually all disaffected persons from their 
employments ; but above all, to effect a complete reform in the 
supreme council of Brabant, ' without which,' to use the words 
of the emperor, ' nothing could be done.' He was no less 
positively enjoined to commence his administration with the 
re-establishment of the general seminary at Louvain. 

" On the arrival of Trautmansdorf at Brussels, in October, 
1787, he found the people in a state of general agitation, and 
with suspicions naturally inspired by the prevarications of the 
sovereign, watching all his proceedings with a jealous eye. He 
therefore suspended the execution of the decree for the suppres- 
sion of the university during three months, and gained great 
popularity by this act of indulgence. The other demands were 
obtained without difficulty, and the subsidies which had been 
refused unanimously voted, with a declaration that this com- 
pliance was a testimony of gratitude for the appointment of a 
minister so agreeable to the nation. 

"Joseph, too ardent and arbitrary to listen to the dictates of 
prudence or justice, disapproved the suspension, and issued per- 
emptory orders to establish the general seminary, whatever 
might be the consequence. His views were warmly supported 
by general d' Alton, who was eager to bring the military force 
into action, and boasted that he could subjugate the whole Ne- 
therlands in six weeks. Trautmansdorf, reluctantly fulfilling an 
order of which he deplored the fatal consequences, commanded 
the rector and other members of the university to submit to 
the plan of reform. The whole body appealing to the council 
of Brabant, he required the latter to enforce the imperial de- 
cree, allowed only two hours for deliberation, and threatened, 
in case of refusal, to employ force, and revoke the recent con- 
cessions. At the same time d' Alton drew out a body of troops, 
with artillery, near the house in which the council was assem- 
bled, and sent a detachment through the streets to awe the 
populace. The states, however, still undaunted, disdained to 
return an answer, and only ordered the message to be entered 
on their journals. The detachment which patroled the streets 
being insulted, fired on the populace ; a tumult ensued, in which 
six persons were killed and several wounded, and d' Alton pour- 
ed a body of troops into the Town-house. But at this awful 
crisis Trautmansdorf again suspended the rising commotion by 



167 

ceasing to press his demands, and by declaring that the general 
had drawn out the troops without his concurrence. 

" Intelligence of these proceedings being transmitted to Vi- 
enna, the emperor rewarded the officer who had ordered the 
troops to fire, and encouraged d' Alton to persist in coercive 
measures ; yet, with the same duplicity as before, he held forth 
to the natives the offer of a general amnesty and complete res- 
titution of his favour. The governor-general, who returned at 
this juncture, found the country in a state of apparent tran- 
quillity, and the people impressed with hopes that Joseph had 
at length relinquished his impolitic designs. But within a few 
days after this public declaration, the university was again 
closed, the rector banished for three years, and the refractory 
members expelled ; while a body of troops, stationed in Lou- 
vain, slaughtered many of the inhabitants, who assembled to de- 
plore the overthrow of that university which had been their 
pride and support. The general seminary was reestablished ; 
the colleges of Mechlin and Antwerp, celebrated for the educa- 
tion of youth destined to the ecclesiastical profession, were like- 
wise closed, and the same measures of coercion employed 
against the inhabitants. 

" Soon after these violent proceedings, the states of the dif- 
ferent provinces assembled to grant the ordinary subsidies, and 
notwithstanding the causes of dissatisfaction, all complied with 
the usual custom except those of Hainault and Brabant. Their 
refusal drew from the emperor a severe address, in which he 
threatened to revoke the amnesty, to prosecute all who had 
taken part in the late troubles, to annul their privileges, and to 
abrogate the Joyous Entry. The states of Brabant, alarmed by 
these threats, sent on the 26th of January, 1789, a petition to 
deprecate the anger of the sovereign, and procured the suspen- 
sion of the impending punishment. Those of the Hainault, 
persisting in their resolution, their assembly was dissolved on 
the 31st by the military force, their chiefs arrested, and their 
constitution abolished. Confident that this severe example 
would intimidate the refractory states of Brabant, Joseph an- 
nounced his intention to make a change in their government, 
which should prevent a repetition of their contumacy, and se- 
cure the regular grant of a permanent subsidy, by extending 
the right of representation to other towns and districts. 



168 

" In the present temper of the country such an arbitrary 
project excited general indignation; and the whole province 
became a scene of civil commotion. 

" While Brabant was thus divided by internal feuds, Joseph 
seized the opportunity to overthrow the constitution. By his 
command, Trautmansdorf summoned an extraordinary meet- 
ing of the states, and required their concurrence in the propo- 
sition for increasing the third order, and establishing a perma- 
nent subsidy. The deputies, however, boldly refused their con- 
sent, exclaiming with one accord, ' though the emperor may 
dissolve us, we will not violate a constitution which we have 
solemnly pledged ourselves to preserve.' In consequence of 
this refusal, the edict was enforced, the assembly dissolved, and 
the Joyous Entry annulled. The deputies repaired to the hall 
of the council of Brabant, and protested against these proceed- 
ings ; but their protests were disregarded, and on the ensuing 
morning three imperial edicts proclaimed the dissolution of the 
ancient constitution, the new arrangement for the administra- 
tion of justice, and various alterations in the imposition and 
collection of the taxes. 

" Joseph fondly considered this event as the termination of 
the struggle ; and d' Alton reechoed his sentiments when he 
said, 'the 18 th of June is a happy epoch for the house of Aus- 
tria ; for on that day, the victory of Kolin saved the monarchy, 
and the emperor became master of the Netherlands.' But nei- 
ther the infatuated monarch nor his sanguine general were ac- 
quainted with the resolution and sentiments of a free nation. 
Although the presence of the military prevented an immediate 
tumult, this apparent tranquillity was the calm which precedes 
the storm. The licentious spirit, which at this time agitated 
France, spread like an electric shock among a people who were 
provoked by repeated insults and oppressions ; the patriots daily 
augmenting in numbers exulted in the hope of being assisted 
by their neighbours, and of forming a similar constitution 
on the ruins of the Austrian government. Vengeance and re- 
taliation were denounced against the royalists ; the walls, 
churches, and houses were covered with placards, calling on the 
people to imitate the example set by the citizens of Paris. 

" Trautmansdorf, who had before averted the danger by pru- 
dence and lenity, was now anxious to meet it with firmness. 
Conscious that the imperial troops, who scarcely amounted to 



169 

20,000, were too few to awe a whole nation, he earnestly re- 
quested an accession of force. His apprehensions were ridiculed 
by d' Alton, who boasted that after sending a battalion of each 
regiment to the army in Hungary, he should still be able to 
maintain internal tranquillity; and Joseph reluctantly des- 
patched only a single regiment, ' not because he deemed it ne- 
cessary, but to encourage a timid government.' The forebodings 
of the minister w T ere too soon realised. Scarcely a month 
elapsed after the dissolution of the ancient constitution, before 
the people tumultuously rose, in various districts released the 
arrested persons, attacked the military, and plundered the houses 
of the magistrates. In these commotions many lives were lost 
at Tirlemont, Louvain, Antwerp, and Mons, before tranquillity 
could be restored, and at Diest, the patriots led on by the 
monks, expelled the imperial troops and the magistrates. Brus- 
sels being likewise the scene of a momentary effervescence, the 
minister proposed to disarm the citizens ; but this measure was 
rejected by d' Alton, who, presuming on the force of military 
discipline, contemptuously exclaimed, ' If they want arms, I will 
supply them.' 

"At this period many young men of Brussels, who had 
uttered seditious speeches, were sent without trial to serve in 
the army of Hungary ; and in the agitated state of the public 
mind, this arbitrary act spread through the nation indignant 
and sullen despondency. Emigrations took place from all quar- 
ters ; the fugitives repairing to the frontiers of Holland and 
Liege, joined those who had quitted their country in the pre- 
ceding troubles, and formed a numerous body, ready to act 
offensively against the government. They found an able chief 
in Van-der-Noot, a factious advocate of Brussels, who had 
taken an active part during the troubles, and at whose instiga- 
tion the third estate had refused to grant the annual subsidy. 
Being arrested and condemned for treason, he had in 1787 es- 
caped into England. After ineffectually endeavouring to ob- 
tain for his countrymen the protection and assistance of the 
British cabinet, he repaired to Berlin. Receiving from the king 
of Prussia only dubious promises, he went to Holland, where 
he was permitted to reside under a feigned name, by the con- 
nivance of the Dutch government, which on this occasion imi- 
mated the conduct of Joseph towards the exiles in the late 
revolution. He returned in 1789 to Breda, whither he drew 
8 



170 

the archbishop of Mechlin, the abbot of Tongaloo, Crumpiper, 
the chancellor of Brabant, many of the nobility of Brussels, 
almost all the members from the states, and Van Eupen, canon 
of Antwerp. By their efforts, the emigrants were disciplined, 
distributed in different parts of the neighbouring country, arms 
and ammunition secured, and a force amounting to 10,000 
men organised and appointed. A committee was established 
at Breda for the regulation of their proceedings, and their 
views seconded by another secret committee at Brussels. 

" In the midst of this ferment, the emperor strangely blend- 
ing conciliation and severity, published a decree reestablishing 
the university of Louvain, in all its rights and privileges. This 
ridiculous versatility excited contempt instead of giving satis- 
faction, and produced no effect in allaying internal disaffection, 
or checking the efforts of the party in Holland. A regular 
plan of hostilities was digested by the chiefs of the insurgents, 
and Van-der-Mersch, an officer who had signalised himself in 
the imperial service during the seven years' war, was appointed 
commander. Van-der-Noot assumed the title of plenipotentia- 
ry agent of the people of Brabant, and a manifesto, under his 
signature, was published ' in the name of the clergy and third 
estate of Brabant, in union with many of the nobility, renoun- 
cing their allegiance and declaring that they no longer consid- 
ered Joseph as their sovereign.' This manifesto, as a declara- 
tion of war, was sent to the government, and followed by the 
march of the patriot army into Brabant. 

"With a view to counteract its effects, the government of 
Brussels ordered it to be burnt by the common executioner, 
and published a long vindication of the emperor; urging 
that although he had abrogated the Joyous Entry, yet he had 
confirmed the essential principles of the constitution, the 
security of persons and property. To awe the disaffected 
within the walls, many persons of the first rank were arrested 
on a charge of conspiracy, the gates were shut, palisadoes 
planted on the fortifications, the citizens disarmed, and active 
preparations made for defence. 

"Meanwhile hostilities commenced. A party of patriots, 
marching from the neighbourhood of Breda, surprised, on the 
25th of October, the forts of Lillo and Liefgenshoek, on the 
Scheld, made the scanty garrison prisoners, and conveyed 
the guardship to Bergen-op-Zoom. Another body of 3000 



m 

men, under the command of Van-der-Mersch, penetrated to 
Turnhout, and though many were armed only with bludgeons, 
pitchforks, and staves, and without cannon, they repulsed the 
imperial general Schroeder, who attacked them with 1500 
men. This unexpected victory, proclaimed a miracle by the 
monks, increased the spirit and numbers of the insurgents, 
while it disheartened the royalists. But on the approach of 
general d'Arberg with 7000 men, the patriots retired within 
the Dutch territories, and concealing their arms, as usual, 
dispersed themselves in Dutch Brabant and the neighbouring 
districts of Liege, waiting for a more favourable opportunity 
to renew their incursions. 

" While the imperial general remained at Hogstraten, the 
insurgents made a new and more effectual attempt on the side 
of Flanders. A body despatched by Van-der-Mersch ap- 
proached Ghent, seized two of the gates, and forcing their way 
into the town, were joined by the burghers with cannon and 
ammunition; the garrison of 1200 men was overpowered by 
numbers, driven across the Scheld, and blockaded in the bar- 
racks of the fort of St. Pierre. D'Arberg with 3000 men 
hastened to the scene of action, and occupied the citadel; but 
he was unable to stem the torrent of revolt. Bruges and 
Courtray declared for the rebels; new succours poured into 
Ghent ; the fort of St. Pierre was stormed, the troops in the 
barracks made prisoners, and d'Arberg himself forced to retire 
in the night to Brussels. All Flanders was instantly emanci- 
pated ; the states assembling at Ghent, in November, 1789, 
published a declaration of independence, and invited the other 
provinces to form a general alliance. Terror and despondency 
spread to the seat of government, the governors-general quit- 
ted Brussels ; d' Alton and Trautmansdorf, whose disputes were 
increased by the impending dangers, acted without concert; 
d' Alton concentrated his troops to make a last effort for the 
preservation of the capital, Trautmansdorf liberated the arres- 
ted persons, restored arms to the citizens, and issued no less 
than twenty-two declarations in the name of the emperor, 
hoping to conciliate the people by suppressing the seminary 
at Antwerp, reestablishing the Joyous Entry, and declaring an 
amnesty. 

"Of this confusion and alarm the patriot chiefs availed 
themselves with equal vigour, skill, and promptitude. Van- 



Ifl 

der-Mersch, assembling a body of insurgents, made a new ir- 
ruption into Brabant, seized Diest, and advancing to Tirlemont, 
threatened Louvain. D' Alton instantly marched against the 
rebels, but pressed by the insurgents of Flanders, and unwill- 
ing to risk a battle which, if unfortunate, would have left him 
no hope of retreat, he suddenly concluded, with the acquies- 
cence of Trautmansdorf, an armistice for ten days, which was 
to be provisionally extended, with the consent of the states of 
Brabant. In this interval he hoped to turn his forces against 
Flanders, but every moment of delay was fatal to the imperial 
cause ; the patriots anticipated his designs, seduced whole 
troops of his soldiers, augmented their party by new accessions 
of force, and organised an insurrection at Brussels, which ter- 
minated the struggle. On the 8th of December the women 
and children endeavored to demolish the intrenchments, and 
tore up the palisadoes. The people assumed a national cock- 
ade ; the streets resounded with the cries of " Long live the 
patriots ! Long live Van-der-Noot ! " The soldiers began to 
desert, and two companies of the regiment of Murray at once 
joined the patriots. 

"On the 11th, an officer imprudently attempting to snatch 
a cockade from the hat of a burgher, a tumult ensued, and the 
inhabitants flew to arms. The imperial troops, separated and 
discouraged, were attacked by different bands of the populace, 
assisted by the deserters, and, after a conflict which continued 
the greater part of the night, were driven into the upper town. 
D'Alton, fallen from his former presumption, dreading the 
approach of Van-der-Mersch on one side, and the Flemish army 
on the other, doubtful of his troops, who were reduced to 5000 
men, surrounded by secret and declared enemies, was happy to 
secure his retreat by a capitulation. He quitted Brussels on 
the evening of the 12th, leaving the cannon, military chests 
and stores in the hands of the insurgents, and took the route 
to Luxemburgh, pillaging, plundering, and wasting the country 
as he passed. The example of the capital was followed by the 
other towns ; the imperial troops successively retired from Ant- 
werp, Louvain, and Mechlin into Luxemburgh, and the gover- 
nor-general Bender, assuming the command, prepared to defend 
that duchy, which alone continued faithful to the house of 
Austria. 



173 

" The news of the revolution affected Joseph to an alarming 
degree, and made a deep impression on his mind, already wea- 
kened by bodily and mental infirmities. He burst into tears, 
complaining bitterly that he had been deceived by the intel- 
ligence from Brussels ; he acknowledged his total inability to 
devise measures for the recovery of those valuable dominions, 
and demanded the advice of Kaunitz, whom he had yet scarcely 
deigned to consult on these momentous events. By his sug- 
gestions he consented to adopt conciliatory measures, and count 
Philip Cobenzl, who was supposed to possess great influence in 
the Netherlands, was despatched to Brussels to tranquillise the 
people, by revoking the late edicts, and restoring their privi- 
leges. These measures were, however, adopted too late. When 
Cobenzl reached the frontier, all the provinces, except Luxem- 
burgh, were in the possession of the insurgents, the congress 
was convoked to form a new constitution, and his overtures 
were rejected with disdain. 

" In this moment of distress Joseph found no resource. He 
in vain appealed to the empire ; he in vain obtained a circular 
letter from the pope to the prelates of the Netherlands recom- 
mending them to return to obedience. Embarrassed by the 
Turkish war, deriving no assistance from the courts of Ver- 
sailles and Petersburgh, his sole allies on the Continent, he was 
reduced to the alternative of courting the interposition of Prus- 
sia, his inveterate enemy, England, whom he had betrayed and 
insulted, and Holland, whom he had despised and humbled. 
His haughty spirit was broken by calamity and disease ; he 
grasped even at the shadow of a hope, and was eager to em- 
brace any measure, however degrading, for the recovery of the 
Netherlands, even though he should reduce them again to that 
dependence on the Maritime Powers from which it had been 
his boast to emancipate them. He hoped to conciliate Prussia 
by cessions on the side of Poland ; he trusted that England 
would gladly tender her assistance to obtain the renewal of the 
Barrier Treaty; he relied on the jealousy which the independ- 
ence of the Netherlands would excite in Holland ; he flattered 
himself that the chiefs of the different provinces would return 
to their allegiance, and accept a free constitution under the 
guaranty of the triple alliance. But he was again deceived. 
England refused to interfere in a cause which was opposed by 
her great continental ally ; Holland beheld his distress with in- 



174 

difference, if not with satisfaction ; Frederic William, who was 
maturing a grand system for the reduction of Austria, fomented 
the discontents in the Netherlands, and exerted all his efforts 
to inflame that hostile spirit which pervaded every part of the 
hereditary dominions, and was rising against Joseph in the dif- 
ferent courts of Europe." 

We have preferred taking this account from Coxe, not only 
because we wish to strengthen our argument for the justice of 
the title of our book by giving, whenever it is possible, the tes- 
timony of the conservative historian, who cannot be suspected 
of colouring too darkly the acts of what he considers the legiti- 
mate government ; but because we think Mr. Grattan has not 
done justice to the Netherlander in his account of the same 
transactions. In his sympathy with the special reforms of Jo- 
seph, (his toleration acts, and abolition of old evils,) he over- 
looks the fact that all along he was breaking the highest of all 
laws, and that which entered in to the very fountains of the na- 
tion's life, by setting aside the constitutional rights, which were 
born with their birth, and which can never be arbitrarily abol- 
ished by any foreign power without fatal effects. Constitution- 
al reform must be always a Phcenix death-birth. All Joseph's 
political philosophy was a mere maggot of his brain, fevered 
into being by the exciting atmosphere of the eighteenth centu- 
ry, an influence wholly external; it had no part or lot with 
that eternal progressive force, which develops itself through 
the heart of men, and acts because it must, in spite of all indi- 
vidual fancies, being rarely understood in full by the very indi- 
viduals by whom it manifests itself the most strongly. George 
Washington indeed seems to have acted in sight of his princi- 
ple in his majestic self-abnegations, although we are unable to 
pronounce with entire certainty on those secrets of the individu- 
al heart and soul, which, in his case, were covered with such a 
veil of natural and habitual reserve, as no friend was intimate 
enough to dare lift up. Was it that there was too much of 
the future there, to be appreciable in those days, by eyes pro- 
fane ? 

It may be that as the race makes progress, there is a grow- 
ing recognition between those irresistible impulses of humanity, 
which are deeper than all selfish emotions or volitions, and 
those higher ideas, which correspond to them in the intellectu- 
al spheres ; and hence a consciousness, which is not weakening 



175 

but strengthening, (inasmuch as it repudiates all personalities,) 
may show itself in the great men of the present and future. 
"When Washington, risking everything upon a certain battle, 
and being asked what was to be done if it was lost, calmly re- 
plied, ' it will then be necessary to retreat (he meant the people 
and not merely the army) behind the Alleghanies, and defend 
ourselves there ;' there was in his heart, if not in his head, the 
truth, that there is nothing impossible to him that wills the 
right. Kossuth, sixty years later, carries this grand will into 
the intellectual sphere, and explains the coincidence o.f absolute 
justice, not only with this instinct of the brave, but with in- 
terest — well understood, yet without lowering the first to the 
limitations of the last, and thereby losing the power to remove 
mountains, which comes only from the principle which is the 
evidence of things unseen. 

Reform is a great thing. It must work from within outward. 
If it commences on the outside, while the principle that made 
all the abuses is unchanged, as in the case of Joseph II., the bad 
is made worse, and the futile agent is the first victim of the 
inevitable reaction. But there is some reason to believe that the 
day of reform is dawning, — when the old world — and the old 
world's law — is brought face to face with the new world, al- 
most unconscious of any principle but self-help, and the thorn- 
crowned martyr of the one, who represents the outraged indi- 
viduality and rights of nations, explains the meaning of the hour 
to the other, by the words : ' Thou hast as much religion as hu- 
manity — and no more] adding, with the supreme grace of self- 
abnegation, ' the works which I do, and the words that I speak, 
are not mine, but His who sent me.' It is indeed an era in the 
political world, when not only the experienced victim of the old 
system, but the nonchalant, unsentimental, self-asserting poli- 
tician of the new, unite in seeing, to say nothing of declaring 
that nations have the same interest in international law, which 
individuals have in the laws of their country. 

When the individuality of nations, and the law that at once 
individualizes and unites them, is promulgated in the light of 
reason,* in which flourish all the ' humanities' of science, art, 
virtue, and love, as well as in the dark depths of instinctive 

* Coleridge has well defined Christianity to be "the perfection of 
lteason. " 



176 

feeling, whose issues are war, and all terrible retributions — 
there is some ground for hope that the nations may 

" keep the heights 
Which they are competent to gain." 

We will here observe that it is plain from the foregoing and 
the subsequent pages, that the Anglo-Saxon race is not the 
only one whose life has blossomed out into constitutional liber- 
ty. Other races have put forth the same forms of life quite as 
vigorously, and as broadly, and if we are to escape the same 
disastrous chances as have for three hundred years sunk them 
into a life-in-death, it will be from no inherent superiority in 
the germs of ours, but because the age of the world is come 
which corresponds to that period of the life of man, when 
thought meets feeling, and, recognising each other, instinct may 
become for evermore one with wisdom. 

Is it not possible that this national integrity and internation- 
al justice and love, is the ultimate attainment of humanity on 
earth ; the fullest realisation in this sphere of the prophetic 
vision, and the poet's dream ; while the individual men which 
compose the nations, are ever to exhibit that personal imper- 
fection which is but the necessary correlative of a sublimer 
destiny than may be within the scope of the finite mind to 
comprehend ? Could this be established, a vast deal of the 
finest intellect and character, whose energies are now dissipated 
in visionary theories of personal perfection, would be concen- 
trated to organise a perfect political system, which can only be 
just for each when it is for all ; and without which in each 
nation, no personal integrity can be unfolded to become the 
subject of culture. 

In considering the crimes of the house of Austria, we must 
not forget Poland, although here the guilt is shared by the 
Brandenburgs and Romanoffs. 

Ruthiere's, "Anarchie de Pologne" gives, in an entertaining 
form, a tolerably fair picture of its character, and the working 
of what an absolutist calls its no-government. That a civilized 
country, he says, should go on for centuries, improving in all 
human culture, without a government, shows the extraordinary 
goodness of the people. It were well of this pleasant book, 
which contains also the most authentic account of Catherine 
II.'s accession to the Russian throne, were translated into Eng- 
lish. But a grave work, and the highest authority respecting 



177 

Poland, is Lelewel's history, also yet untranslated. We are 
sorry that our limits allow us to give but a few observations to 
correct some current errors. It has been the policy of the 
European governments around Poland, to misrepresent, as well 
as to interfere with, the operations of its constitution. This 
necessarily arose from a principle of self-protection ; nothing 
was so disastrous for them, as the peace, prosperity, and pro- 
gress of a republican country in their midst. All the motives 
which impelled to the League of Cambray, would operate to 
this end respecting Poland, whose partition was the supreme 
act of the diplomacy which, as Sismondi said, began in Europe 
in 1508. 

Poland was never a feudal country. The nobles and pea- 
sants are of the same race ; and service in war, or a university 
education availed to give nobility to the child of the meanest 
peasant. The veto power, by the abuse of which the country 
was made weak, when it needed to be strongest against foreign 
influence, was only developed into disastrous action through 
foreign influence, brought to bear upon the Diet ; because, as 
has been already intimated, it was a life and death interest of 
the surrounding despotisms to prevent the national progress 
and purification of a government in their midst, essentially re- 
publican, although its chief magistrate was named king. The 
same veto power existed in the Arragonese constitution, and 
never seemed to have had any irregular action. Of course, 
this, or almost any other safety-valve of liberty, may be used 
for the worst end, as soon as a nation is vitiated by bad faith 
within, whether of indigenous growth, or of foreign planting. 
In the case of Poland, it is obvious, from Kuthiere, that it was 
of foreign planting. 

But our object is not political disquisition, but history. When 
the Poles first began to elect kings from foreign nations, it was 
partly in order that the equality of their own families should 
be preserved, and some should have the prestige of sovereignty 
connected with them. At the first election, after the death of 
the last Jagellon, Maximilian II. endeavoured to obtain the 
crown for his son Ernest, but Henry of Anjou was chosen. 
After the latter abandoned Poland, to succeed his brother in 
France, Maximilian made new efforts for Ernest, and was him- 
self chosen by one party. This was no great gratification to 
him, for the limited monarchy of Poland had few charms for 
8* 



178 

him. While he hesitated about the pacta conventa, his more 
active opponent, Stephen Batory, hastened into Poland, and 
signed this capitulation, which so greatly increased his party 
that he was forcibly chosen, although Maximilian did at length 
accede to the pacta conventa, and, secure of the Czar, ap- 
pealed to the empire, and endeavoured to excite the kings of 
Denmark and Sweden against his rival, " whom he stigma- 
tized," says Coxe, " as a vassal of the Turks." But death in- 
terrupted his operations on the 12th of October, 15*76, and 
Stephen Batory was elected. 

The next Polish election, in which the house of Austria in- 
terfered, was in the beginning of the eighteenth century, when 
the Emperor, Charles VI., with the aid of the Czarina, placed 
Augustus II. upon the throne, on condition of his giving his 
sanction to the Pragmatic Sanction. By this intrigue, the 
choice of the nation, Stanislaus Leczynski, was set aside. 
This was in 1720. 

In 1763, on the death of Augustus II., Maria Theresa encou- 
raged his son Xavier to become a candidate for the crown of 
Poland, in opposition to Stanislaus Poniatowski and other Po- 
lish noblemen. Through the powerful influence of Cathe- 
rine II., Stanislaus was certain of success. But Maria Theresa, 
seeing that by this a preponderance was given to Russian in- 
fluence in Poland, published a manifesto, declaring that the 
Poles had the right of appointing a sovereign by a free and 
voluntary election, and, with the aid of France, prepared to 
second the claims of the Saxon house. Catherine, on the other 
hand, gained the king of Prussia, and the Porte, and they 
jointly issued a proclamation exhorting, " or rather," says Coxe, 
"commanding the Poles to elect none but a Piast for their king." 
A Russian army enforced this, and Stanislaus Augustus was 
elected. Maria Theresa, ill-seconded by France, concluded to 
push the matter no further. 

The wrongs of Poland are due not wholly to the House of 
Austria. Prussia and Russia were indeed the principal aggres- 
sors. Frederic the Great undoubtedly first projected the parti- 
tion, but his first step was to gain Austria, because he was 
aware that Russia was so sure of the whole of the prey, she 
would oppose dismemberment. The emperor Joseph I. went 
to Neiss, to negotiate with him upon the subject. Two years 
after, a second interview took place, and the map of Poland 



179 

was laid out before them, when the limits of the respective 
portions were adjusted, the largest share being assigned to 
Russia, in order to secure her concurrence. The Austrian and 
Prussian troops entered Poland on the pretence of preventing 
the plague, and Maria Theresa first presented her vague claims 
on certain Polish districts, on the specious pretext of protecting 
them from Russia and Prussia. The Austrian troops first oc- 
cupied sixteen towns of the county of Zips ; and upon this, 
Frederic proposed to Catherine the dismemberment ; and the 
respective portions were specified at St. Petersburgh, in Febru- 
ary, 1772. "Maria Theresa felt or affected to feel" says Coxe, 
"great scruples of conscience, in participating in the disgrace of 
this infamous transaction ; but she was not the less exorbitant 
in her demands, and extended her claims almost to the half of 
Poland." She afterwards made a merit of yielding something, 
but retained Red Russia, Galicia, and parts of the palatinates 
of Cracow, Sandomir, Lublen, Bezk, Volhynia, and Podolia, a 
fertile and extensive country, with a population of ten millions 
and a half, and the valuable salt mines of Wieliczka, whose 
revenue to the republic was 90,000 pounds a year. This ter- 
ritory was consolidated and annexed to the Austrian dominions 
under the ancient appellation of the kingdoms of Galicia and 
Lodomeria. 

The plunder of these countries by Maria Theresa's troops was 
immense. Even Catherine of Russia reproached the Court of 
Vienna for the exactions of their troops, and extorted from the 
emperor a humiliating disavowal of their conduct. When 
we read of the wagon-loads of gold, among which were the 
spoils of churches, candelabras of the size of a grown man, of 
solid gold, carried into Austria, we are led to ask, whence came 
this prodigious wealth ? and this question leads us to remember 
that from time immemorial there had been a land trade extend- 
ing into Persia and other rich Asiatic territories, and that the 
constitutional law, prohibiting Poles from engaging on either 
side in a sectarian war, had made the fertile plains of Poland 
the granary of Europe, during the terrible religious wars that 
raged over the West of Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries. Poland, too, from its constitutional laws of tolera- 
tion, was the asylum for the persecuted merchants and mechan- 
ics of the Jewish and Protestant sects, driven for many centu- 
ries from other more bigoted countries. 



180 

In giving an account of the state of the several parts of Po- 
land, after the partition, Lelevel, having enumerated oppres- 
sions common to all of them, makes the following remarks : 

" There was, however, this difference between the Austrian 
government and the Prussian, that the latter, more fond of peace, 
more economical, favoured the propagation of knowledge, aug- 
mented the number of primary schools, carried instruction to 
the poorest, and tolerated the manifestations of national senti- 
ments, that the Poles did not know how to repress. Without 
speaking of liberty, the Prussian government respected indi- 
vidual liberty and property. Justice was equally administered 
to nobles and peasants, without distinction of class ; both were 
subjected to military service. No exception was made ex- 
cept in favour of the Jews. At Warsaw they were permitted 
to have a national theatre; the polytechnic society, founded 
by some patriots for the end of conserving the Polish nation- 
ality, was authorised by the king of Prussia, It was not so in 
Galicia. There the emperor proclaimed the liberty of the 
peasants, forgetting or ignoring that long before the fall of Po- 
land, the quatriennial or constituent diet had guaranteed it to 
them. But he erected it into a principle that everything be- 
longed to the emperor, property and persons, and that he could 
dispose of them according to his good pleasure, as of things 
that were his. Occupied by continual wars with France, the 
emperor exhausted his estates, and especially Galicia, by exac- 
tions. Whoever could bear arms, whether Gipsies, Jews, or 
Christians, were enrolled, and forced to serve as soldiers, under 
German counts and barons. His enormous imposts not only 
took away their money, but forced them to give up their landed 
property. To repair the immense losses of his campaigns, he had 
recourse to paper money of which he reduced the value after- 
wards, or suppressed it altogether ; and he circulated copper 
money qualified with silver, and forced it to be received as silver. 
In short, it was an odious spoliation and a degrading slavery. 
In order to attach the magistrates and principal inhabitants to 
himself, he sold to them titles of counts and barons ; as the 
price of this imperial complaisance they were obliged to pay 
very dear. 

" There were many who did not blush to buy these honours, 
and to disgrace their posterity with them, forgetting that the 
ancient laws of the republic deprived of the rights of citizen- 



181 

ship, and declared infamous those who accepted titles from for- 
eign powers. 

" That the dismemberment of Poland, by Austria, Prussia, and 
Russia, did not destroy it, Lelevel's faithful history proves. Not 
only Kosciusko's struggles, and the revolution of 1831, sup- 
pressed mainly through the perfidy of Louis Philippe, acting in 
combination with the generous confidence of Skrzynecki, but 
the previous educational efforts of Czartoryski at the university 
of Wilna, and the energy with which the Poles repulsed the 
archduke Ferdinand from Warsaw in 1809; and generally 
fought for Napoleon, in the vain confidence that he would re- 
store their republic. It may be that had Napoleon justified 
their long cherished hopes, and kept the faith he promised by 
the agents whom he sent to Warsaw to negotiate for as- 
sistance, previous to his Russian campaign, the result of that ex- 
traordinary movement would have been far different, and when 
he fell back into Lithuania, he would have found himself sus- 
tained; but his cold-blooded evasions, when he had passed 
through Warsaw, after it had risked Alexander's fury for his 
sake, had finally convinced the Poles that they should ' put no 
trust in princes ;' and they left him to the elements which were 
as humane as himself. The republicanism which is to be es- 
tablished by autocracy is as futile as the reforms which come 
from the same quarter ; and Napoleon Bonaparte's history is as 
clear a less on upon the former pretence, as Joseph II .'s was upon 
the latter." 

We must leave, however, the history of Poland, so illustra- 
tive of our subject, in order to come to the history of Hungary. 
There is no complete work on this subject extant in the Eng- 
lish language. In the Spring of 1850, there was republished 
in Boston, by Ticknor, Fields and Co., from the London edition, 
a pamphlet by J. Toulmin Smith, called " Parallels of the Consti- 
tutional History of England and Hungary," which should be 
studied by those persons who fancy and assert that Anglo- 
Saxons are the only people to whom constitutional liberty is 
natural. In the May of the same year, there appeared also in 
the Christian Examiner of Boston, an article upon Hungary, 
referring to a recent publication of A. de Gerando, De V Esprit 
publique en Hongrie dcpuis la Revolution Franpaise, and in- 
tended to rectify the false statements made in an article in the 
N. A. Review of January, 1850, where the Hungarian move- 



182 

ment of 1848 — 9, as well as all the past history of Hungary, 
were vilified. This article in the Examiner, which exhibited a 
wonderful familiarity with the Hungarian language and litera- 
ture, as well as a profound and accurate knowledge of the history 
of modern Europe in general, and an extraordinary acquaint- 
ance with the periodical literature of the day, and the influences 
under which each individual contributor to it had written, when 
the subject matter touched the politics of Hungary, contains a 
masterly treatment of the misrepresentations which despotism 
makes of the history of freedom ; and this part of the subject 
was pursued still farther in two successive articles in the same 
periodical, one published in November, 1850, and the other in 
March, 1851, from which also may be gathered an authentic 
account of the actual transactions in Hungary during 1848 — 9. 
All three articles, together with those in the N. A. Review 
which called them forth, would make a valuable volume, if for 
nothing else, to show the difference between writing history as 
a gossip, and writing it as a critic. 

We confine ourselves now to extracting a portion of the first 
article, which carries the history up to the time that the war 
between Hungary and Austria began. It was from the same 
article, that Mr. Secretary Webster quoted the Hungarian sta- 
tistics with which he illustrated the speech he -made at the con- 
gressional dinner given at Washington in honour of Kossuth, 
January, 1852. 

"The Hungarian nation has been distinguished, from its 
first appearance in history, for uniting to a passionate love of 
liberty a scrupulous reverence for law. The Magyars did not 
enter the plains of Dacia an undisciplined rabble. From the 
first, they possessed a fixed form of government, and were dis- 
tinguished for their subordination to their leaders and their 
laws. To these habits of discipline in which the Magyars were 
trained,* to their love of order, and regard for law, it is to be 
ascribed, that they did not pass away, like the common hordes 
of barbarian adventurers, but established a permanent kingdom 
in the country they invaded. To these qualities, not less than 
to their courage, is to be ascribed their successful maintenance 



* The accounts given, by their own writers, of the ancient Magyars, 
recall forcibly the description given by Sallust of the manners of the 
Romans in the first years of the Republic. 



183 

of their constitutional rights against all the attacks of a power 
before which the liberties of so many other nations have fallen. 
"The ancient institutions of the Magyars were eminently 
democratic. Their chief ruler was elected by the votes of the 
people. For the first century after their establishment in the 
country, he received only the title of Vezer, or leader. In the 
year 1000, they bestowed the title of king on Stephen, of the 
family of Arpad, the leader under whose guidance they had 
entered Pannonia. The power of the king was, however, 
strictly limited. The consent of the people was necessary to 
give efficacy to every royal act. The excellent prince who first 
filled the throne of Hungary had no disposition to infringe the 
liberties of the people. On the contrary, he endeavoured to 
guard them against the encroachments of future sovereigns. 
He framed a code of laws, founded on the ancient institutions 
of the Magyars, which have ever since been regarded as of the 
highest authority. These statutes were drawn up for the guid- 
ance of his son Emeric, whom he educated as his successor in 
the kingdom. The enlightened and humane spirit in which 
these decrees are composed gives a very high idea of the civili- 
zation and political advancement of Hungary at this period. 
We find in them an express recognition of the principle of 
universal equality : — " Omnes homines unius sunt conditionis? * 
It is in the following terms that he prescribed the duty of a 
king towards his subjects : — 

" ' Let them be to thee, my son, as brothers and fathers ; 
reduce none of them to servitude, neither call them thy ser- 
vants. Let them fight for thee, not serve thee. Govern them 
without violence and without pride, peacefully, humbly, hu- 
manely. Remembering that nothing elevates but humility, that 
nothing abases but pride and an evil will. 

" ' My son, I pray thee, I command thee, to show thyself 
propitious, not only to thy kindred, not only to princes, to lead- 
ers, to the rich, not only to thy country people, but likewise 
to strangers, and to all that come unto thee. Be patient with 
all, not only with the powerful, but with those lacking power. 
Bear ever in thy mind this precept of the Lord : — - I will have 
mercy and not sacrifice.' "f 

* Sancti Stephani Regis Decretum i. cap. iv. 
t Sanct. Stephan. Decret. i. cap. x. 



184 

" Ho recognizes the right of the people to depose an unwor- 
thy prince : — 

" 'If thou art mild and just, then shalt thou be called a king, 
and the son of a king ; but if thou art proud and violent, they 
will deliver thy kingdom to another.' " * 

" This right was exercised in the reign of his immediate suc- 
cessor. Emeric, the son of Stephen, died before his father. 
The people elected, after the death of Stephen, chiefly through 
the influence of his widow, her brother, Peter, a German prince. 
They had reason to repent their choice of a foreigner, who had 
no comprehension of the nature of free institutions. He was 
deposed in the third year of his reign. The grounds of his 
expulsion were, that he had banished and put to death many, 
without observing the due forms of law ; that he had bestowed 
important offices in the kingdom upon foreigners ; that he had 
prevented the states from holding their diet and their accustomed 
assemblies. After this experience of foreign rule, the Hunga- 
rians returned to the House of Arpad, and chose their kings 
from this family, until its extinction, in the person of Andrew 
III., in 1301. The princes of this dynasty, with few excep- 
tions, were just and patriotic kings, who understood the origin 
and true objects of government, and held their power for the 
benefit of the people, not for their own selfish aggrandizement. 
There are traits recorded of many of them, which prove them 
to have been the worthy successors of St. Stephen. ' The re- 
public is not mine,' said Geza II., 'it is I who belong to the 
republic. God has raised me to the throne, in order that I 
may maintain the laws.' In 1222, Andrew II. issued the ce- 
lebrated code of statutes known by the name of the ' Golden 
Bull,' by which the decrees of St. Stephen were confirmed, 
and some new laws added to them, designed to secure yet fur- 
ther the liberties of the people. The Golden Bull has been 
termed a charter of aristocratic privileges. It was so, in the 
same sense that the great charter of English liberties may be 
called so. The Golden Bull corresponds very closely to the 
Magna Charta of King John, both in its provisions, and as re- 
gards the class of persons whose liberties it was designed to 
protect. The privileges of Magna Charta were expressly res- 
tricted to freemen. The provisions of the Golden Bull were, 

* Respublica et Status Regni Hungarian 



185 

in like manner, considered as applicable only to the class of 
nobles, as those possessed of the rights of citizenship were 
called in Hungary. At the period when these edicts were 
promulgated, the rights of the lowest class of the people were 
very little considered in any part of Europe. But the recogni- 
tion of the principles of just government in the laws of a coun- 
try is of infinite value, however the circumstances of the time 
may allow only of their partial application. 

" We will here transcribe some of the most important of the 
ancient laws which, in Hungary, guarded the liberties of the 
subject from the encroachments of the prince. These laws 
have never been repealed, but repeatedly confirmed. It is to 
these, the fundamental laws of the kingdom of Hungary, — to 
whose observance and maintenance the kings of Hungary are 
bound by their coronation-oath, — that the Hungarians have 
constantly appealed in their long struggle against royal usur- 
pation ; and it is by these that the cause between them and 
their sovereign is to be judged. 

" By the constitution of Hungary, the power of making laws 
belongs to the king and the people conjointly : — 

" ' The king, having convened the people, shall ask them 
whether such or such laws are pleasing to them or not. If the 
people answer, Yes, these decrees shall pass into laws. But it 
will most commonly happen, that the people (populus) will 
themselves decide unanimously on many things which they 
think conducive to the public welfare. If the prince shall accept 
these decrees, they shall, in like manner, have the force of law. 

" ' It is to be known, in the first place, that the laws bind 
the prince who has made them, at the request of the people ; 
according to the maxim, ' Suffer the law which thou hast made 
thyself.' 

" ' The king is bound to answer, in the presence of the Lord 
Palatine of this kingdom, to all those who have any complaint 
to make, or any cause to plead against him. 

" ' It is decreed that the king shall observe the peace, and 
cause it to be observed ; neither shall he make war, nor intro- 
duce any foreign troops into Hungary, and the parts which are 
annexed to it, without the knowledge and consent of the states 
of the kingdom? 

" The king was not allowed, even under the most urgent 
circumstances, to raise subsidies or contributions without the 



186 

consent of the diet. It was even provided, that if any particu- 
lar county should, by its own motion, and without the consent 
of the whole kingdom, offer the king any subsidy or contribu- 
tion, the nobles of that county, being by this act convicted of 
treason and perjury, should lose the rights and privileges of the 
nobility, and be denied all intercourse with the other counties. 
It was likewise interdicted to the king, to employ foreigners in 
the offices of the state, or to give them the command of gar- 
risons in Hungary. 

" No Hungarian could be tried out of the kingdom, even if 
the king had with him the ordinary judges of the kingdom. 
Nor could any one be condemned without being cited and con- 
victed according to the forms of law. 

" Our readers may judge, by these provisions of the Hunga- 
rian constitution, whether it was indeed a mere heap of feudal 
rubbish, or whether it is worthy of a place beside the old con- 
stitution of England, which, with all its imperfections, we re- 
vere as the source from which our wider liberties have sprung. 

" If Hungary had continued under the government of upright 
and wise kings, it would, doubtless, at the present day, have 
been one of the most powerful states in Europe, — powerful, not 
only by extent and wealth, but by the character of the people 
whose love of freedom, and generosity united, would have de- 
veloped a very high order of civilization. All that was con- 
trary to justice and sound policy in their institutions would, 
under a government disposed to further their efforts for im- 
provement, long since have been reformed, and they would have 
kept pace with, if they had not surpassed, the most enlightened 
nations of Europe in social and political progress. But, early in 
the sixteenth century, they passed under the sway of a dynas- 
ty, the most selfish and unprincipled that ever controlled the 
destinies of a nation. This dynasty has for three hundred 
years pursued one undeviating system of policy, — a system of 
perfidy and cruelty, transmitted, with the sceptre, from father 
to son. Never have the Austrian kings of Hungary given a 
thought to the prosperity and advancement of the nation con- 
fided to their charge. Their only aim has been to reduce it to 
absolute subjection, and to obliterate every trace of its ancient 
liberties. When foreign wars have threatened the safety of 
the empire, the Austrian government has been lavish of con- 
cessions and promises, to be retracted and forgotten the moment 



187 

the return of peace left the king of Hungary at leisure to turn 
his forces against the liberties of his own subjects. The Hun- 
garians, on their part, have displayed towards their perfidious 
rulers all the generosity and loyalty that could have been due 
to the most patriotic princes. A hundred times deceived, they 
have again trusted, again to become victims of new perfidy. 
Through a course of three centuries, the Hungarians have been 
alternately pouring out their blood and treasure in wars, whose 
honour and profit were not for them, and, in the intervals of 
outward tranquillity, maintaining a struggle for national exist- 
ence with their own king. Thus the season of peace was for 
them the period of greatest danger ; the prosperity of the prince 
was the misfortune of the people. 

" Ferdinand of Austria was invested with the sacred crown 
of St. Stephen on the 1st of November, 152V. He took the 
oath of allegiance to the constitution of Hungary, and volun- 
tarily added words of assurance to the assembled people, of 
his love for the Hungarian nation, and his respect for the laws. 
He did not owe his election to the throne of Hungary to the 
preference of the nation, but to the cruel circumstances in which 
it found itself placed. The designs of the Archdukes of Aus- 
tria on this kingdom had long been manifest, and had, hither- 
to, been effectually repelled. But after the death, of Louis II., 
in the fatal battle of Mohacs, it was judged impracticable to 
maintain, in addition to the war in which they were already 
engaged with the Turks, a contest with the Austrian pretender 
to the crown. It was decided to convert one of their enemies 
into an ally, by voluntarily accepting him as their king. This 
measure was effected chiefly through the instrumentality of 
some powerful nobles, and did not receive the approbation of 
the great body of the nation. None of the desired results 
were obtained by it. The German troops pillaged the country 
more mercilessly than the Turks had done, and extended their 
ravages through parts of the kingdom where these could never 
have penetrated. Nor did the Hungarians find, in the Austri- 
an alliance, that protection against their Ottoman enemies which 
they had promised themselves. It was no part of the Austrian 
policy to succour Hungary ; its aim was rather to weaken and 
impoverish it, by whatever means. The victories which the 
emperors of Germany gained over the Turks, by Hungarian 
money and arms, brought no advantage to the Hungarian na- 



188 

tion. The Turks were allowed to make constant predatory in- 
cursions into Hungary, in time of supposed peace. All repre- 
sentations to the king on this subject were unheeded. He 
would neither remonstrate with the Sultan on these infractions 
of the treaties, nor suffer the Hungarians themselves to enter 
into any composition with the Turks. Thus they maintained, 
alone, a constant border warfare, while, at the same time, they 
were forced to support large bodies of foreign troops, more cruel 
and more destructive than the Turks themselves. To such des- 
titution were the common people reduced, that parents even 
sold their children to the infidels to save them from starvation. 
The contributions in money, extorted by the Austrian govern- 
ment in one year, exceeded the amount of the tribute which 
had been exacted by the Turks in ten. Such was the condition 
of Hungary for the space of nearly two hundred years.* 

" The Archdukes of Austria were not content to wear the 
crown of Hungary by the election of the people. It was their 
aim, from the first, to make it the absolute property of their 
house. Ferdinand I. had already declared the crown heredi- 
tary, but he did not succeed in having this claim allowed by 
the nation. In order to secure the succession to his son, he 
caused him to be crowned in his own lifetime. His successors 
for one hundred and fifty years were forced to take the same 
precaution. In every case the form of election by the people 
was observed, and the prince was required to take the corona- 
tion oath which bound him to maintain the Hungarian con- 
stitution. Thus the monarchy remained elective until the time 
of Leopold I. This prince had been crowned at Presburg in 
1655, during the life of his father. Before his coronation, the 
conditions upon which he was to receive the crown were offered 
him, according to custom. He accepted and swore to them, 
and caused a diploma to be made of them and inserted in the 
public acts. All these conditions, like his predecessors, he had 
constantly violated ; and at length, in 1687, at the close of a 
successful war with the Turks, of which, as usual, Hungary 
had borne the expense and the suffering, he felt himself strong 

* See the representations of the grievances of the Hungarian nation 
made by the diets of 1559 and 1563. See also the letter addressed by 
the Bishop of Coloeza to Joseph I., through Baron Scalvinioni, 1703. — 
The manifesto of Prince Rakoczy, 1703. — Memoirs of Prince Rak6czy, 
by himself, 1739. 



J 89 

enough to carry into effect the long-deferred project of his 
house. He knew, however, that he was to encounter no slight 
obstacle in the resistance of the Hungarian nobles, the patriot- 
ism and courage of many of whom he had already proved. 
He provided against this difficulty beforehand. Immediately 
before he summoned the diet that was to sanction this change 
in the constitution of the kingdom, the discovery of a fabulous 
conspiracy against the government gave him an excuse for rid- 
ding himself of all those whose courage or patriotism might 
offer hindrance to his designs. A court was opened at Debre- 
czin, presided over by Caraffa, a name more infamous than that 
of Jeffreys, and here, under the most horrible tortures, num- 
berless victims perished. The trials were conducted secretly ; 
the public never knew of what the sufferers were accused, or on 
what evidence they were condemned. A yet more terrible tri- 
bunal was established at Eperies. Caraffa repaired thither, and 
to this bar were dragged, from every part of the kingdom, all 
whose virtue rendered them suspected, or whose wealth offered 
a temptation to the cupidity of their judges.* A scaffold was 
erected in the midst of the city, where, from March to Decem- 
ber, the executioners were kept constantly at work. The follow- 
ing passage from the Histoire des Revolutions de Hongrie\ 
will give the reader some idea of the horrors of this time : — 

" ' There were seen in this city thirty men, dressed in green, 
all executioners, or servants of executioners, employed in ad- 
ministering the torture, in beheading, breaking on the wheel, 
and quartering. Dragoons traversed the country, to seek for 
persons of condition, whether Catholics or Protestants. These 
were seized, some in the church, some in the streets, others in 
their houses, wherever they could be found. It was in vain 
that some alleged their iunocence, and that others had recourse 
to the amnesty which they had received for past offences. They 
were cast into dungeons, and underwent the torture, ordinary 
and extraordinary, to compel them to avow the crime of which 
they were accused, and to declare their accomplices. . . . The 

* See Fessler, Die Geschichten der Ungern. 

f A very valuable work, written by a Hungarian, in the French lan- 
guage, published in 1739. The Hungarians commonly write in French, 
German, or Latin, when they desire to give their works a European 
circulation. In the eighteenth century, prior to the time of Maria 
Theresa, they used French in preference to German. 



190 

sons, brothers, and relations of those who were thus tortured 
cast themselves at the feet of Caraffa, to conjure him to fol- 
low, at least, some rules prescribed by the laws of the country, 
or any others which are in use among Christians.' " 

" Caraffa referred them to the court of Vienna. Here they 
found a gracious hearing, and received promises of mercy for 
their friends ; but the executions continued, and when the pe- 
titioners returned to Eperies, it was to find those whose pardon 
they thought they had obtained already dead, or to have their 
remonstrances unheeded by the judges, who had been furnished 
with private instructions. 

" It was under these circumstances, that Leopold summoned 
the diet of Hungary to crown ' the most serene Archduke 
Joseph, as their hereditary lord and king.' It was not in the 
power of the Hungarians to disregard this summons. The 
troops of the emperor occupied all the fortified places of Hun- 
gary and Transylvania, and the scaffold at Eperies remained 
standing even to the day of the coronation. Yet, with all this, 
the diet did not yield without a remonstrance. In their reply 
to the king's demand, they first set forth the grievances of the 
nation, and demanded the withdrawal of the foreign troops. 
They then expressed their willingness to elect the Archduke 
Joseph according to the ancient forms, but declined to acknow- 
ledge him as their hereditary king. The court now made use 
of every art to win the diet to consent. Every thing was pro- 
mised. The patriotic members were bribed with assurances 
of the speedy redress of the grievances of the nation ; the 
selfish with the promise of office and emolument for themselves. 
But there were among them still men who were not to be blin- 
ded by falsehood, and who were unassailable by motives of 
fear or interest. Among the most distinguished and the most 
influential was the Count Drascowich, who held the office of 
Judex Curice, Grand Judge of the kingdom. This nobleman 
fell suddenly dead on quitting a banquet where he had just re- 
ceived a letter from the hands of a messenger from the king. 
The servants of Austria saw in his death the just judgment of 
Heaven on the head of the opposer of the will of royalty. 
The Hungarians gave it another interpretation. 

" The diet at length succumbed to the wishes of the king. 
But his triumph was only partial. The states yielded their 
consent onlv on conditions from which they firmly refused to 



191 

depart. They stipulated, first, that in case of the failure of 
male heirs of the house of Hapsburg, the Hungarian nation 
should recover its rights over the crown, and the kingdom 
should become once more elective. The second condition was, 
that the king should still be obliged to take the oath to main- 
tain the constitution, and that the people of Hungary " should 
preserve, under the hereditary monarchy, all the privileges, 
immunities, rights, customs, and liberties, which they had en- 
joyed under the elective monarchy." The emperor assented to 
these stipulations, requiring only the exception from the chap- 
ter of their privileges of the thirty-first article of the Golden 
Bull, which gave to the nobles the right of armed resistance, 
without incurring the penalties of treason, in case of an open 
attack on their liberties by the king. This article was rescin- 
ded. On the 9th of December, 1687, the ceremony of the 
coronation took place. Thus did the crown of Hungary be- 
come hereditary in the House of Hapsburg. 

" Charles III., the successor of Joseph, had no son. By the 
terms of the act of the diet of Presburg, of 1687, the crown 
must therefore become, at his death, once more elective. This 
prince had reigned with somewhat more moderation than his 
predecessors. He had, indeed, like them, infringed the laws 
and trifled with the interests of Hungary, but his government 
had been less insupportably cruel than theirs. This compara- 
tive clemency of the reigning prince, and yet more, the dread 
of the civil wars which would result from a contested succes- 
sion, induced the Hungarian nation to give their consent to the 
Pragmatic Sanction, by which the right of succession was as- 
sured to the daughters of Charles and their descendants. By 
the term of the Pragmatic Sanction, the succession was to be 
transmitted in the order of 'primogeniture, and without divi- 
sion of the kingdom. It was accepted by the Hungarians 
only on the same conditions that were attached to the act of 
1687. The sacred crown of Hungary was not to be carried 
out of the kingdom, and no prince was to assume it until he 
had taken the oath to observe and maintain the laws, customs, 
privileges, etc., of the kingdom. This instrument was guar- 
anteed by all the principal powers of Europe. Hungary alone 
was i^ithful to the engagement. We need not dwell here on 
that celebrated scene, better known than any other passage in 
Hungarian history, where in the place of labored harangues, 



192 

the flash of sabres, and the emphatic words, ' Vitam et sangui- 
nem]* answered the appeal of the betrayed and deserted 
queen. 

" Maria Theresa was the first of her house who can be said to 
have ascended the Hungarian throne by the free choice of the 
nation. In her reign, for the first time since the accession of 
the House of Austria, a sentiment of loyalty to their sovereign 
sprang up in the breasts of the Hungarian people. They en- 
tertained for their queen that affection which generous minds 
feel towards those whom they have benefited. Maria Theresa 
was not insensible to the devotion of her people. But the grat- 
itude of the woman could not overcome the selfishness of the 
despot. She expressed her sense of her obligations to the Hun- 
garians in every way in which she could do so without any 
sacrifice of her convenience, or of the schemes of absolute do- 
minion never lost sight of by any sovereign of the Austrian 
dynasty. She pursued these schemes with a prudence unknown 
to her predecessors. She avoided giving any violent shock to 
the national feeling of the Magyars by a direct attack upon 
their institutions; she won them by fair words and lavish enco- 
miums, which a generous and confiding people, unused to even 
so much consideration for their rights as they received from 
her, accepted as if they had been substantial benefits. Even in 
the promotion of measures really advantageous to the king- 
dom, Maria Theresa took care to bring herself a step nearer to 
the accomplishment of her designs. She put forth decrees of 
her own authority, without the concurrence of the diet ; as, for 
example, those regulating the urbarial relations, which the no- 
bles, in consideration of their manifest justice and expediency, 
accepted, notwithstanding the illegal manner of their promul- 
gation. 

" Joseph II., the son and successor of Maria Theresa, was a man 
of more activity of intellect and greater individuality of char- 
acter than often fall to the lot of princes in modern times. He 
possessed, together with these qualities, an obstinate and impe- 
rious temper. He had been carefully educated by a Hungarian 
tutor, a man of extensive learning and enlightened views, and 
had thus acquired certain philanthropic and liberal ideas, which, 

* "For," says the Hungarian historian, Fessler, "the highest enthu- 
siasm is only strong in deeds, not rich in words." 



193 

engrafted on his original disposition, and forced to reconcile 
themselves with his schemes of usurpation, made him a strange 
compound of tyrant and reformer. From the commencement 
of his reign, he declared his intention of governing by his own 
absolute authority. He disdained to receive the crown from 
the Hungarian nation, and refused to take the oath of fidelity 
to the laws. His reign was one continued contest with the 
Hungarian people. He decreed the entire subversion of their 
ancient constitution and laws, which he would replace by model 
institutions of his own. He gave the Hungarians three years 
in which to learn the German language, at the expiration of 
which time no man could hold an office or serve his country 
in any capacity who had not made himself master of that 
tongue. The Hungarians resisted, by petitions, by remon- 
strances, and by the refusal of subsidies. At length they spoke 
a language to which he was forced to listen. The contest end- 
ed, as all former contests of this sort had ended, in the defeat 
of the usurper. Joseph was forced to cancel the work of his 
whole reign. He revoked all his decrees, and declared that 
the kingdom was to be regarded, in respect to its political in- 
stitutions, as standing in the same position as when he began 
his reign. He announced his intention of assembling the diet. 
He promised to submit to the ceremony of coronation, and to 
take the oath of allegiance to the Hungarian constitution. He 
restored the regalia of Hungary to the charge of the nation. 
But he was not destined to wear these emblems of royalty by 
their gift. On the day when the sacred crown of St. Stephen 
was received at Buda, in the midst of universal acclamations 
and the roar of cannon, the monarch lay dead in his palace at 
Vienna. 

" Leopold, the brother of Joseph, warned by the example of 
his preclecessor, began his reign with voluntary assurances to 
the Hungarian people of his earnest intention to govern accord- 
ing to the laws. He immediately convened the diet, the first 
which had been called for twenty-five years. He was solemnly 
crowned according to the ancient customs, and took the oath 
to maintain the constitution. But this was not deemed by the 
nation a sufficient guarantee for the safety of their institutions. 
The diet, accordingly, passed a number of decrees, defining 
the powers and duties of the king, and the rights of the nation. 
These decrees contained nothing new. All the articles already 
9 



194 

made part of the law of the kingdom. But the diet deemed 
it essential, in view of the danger which the liberties of Hun- 
gary had so recently incurred, that these statutes should be 
once more solemnly confirmed by the diet, and receive the 
royal sanction. Of these acts we will cite some of the most 
important : 

" 'Articles 2 and 3. Within six months after the death of 
the king, his successor shall be crowned at Presburg, and 
shall take the oath to observe the laws, liberties, and privi- 
leges of the kingdom.' 

" 'Art. 10. Hungary is a free and independent kingdom, 
in no way subordinate to any other people or kingdom, and 
is to be governed by its lawfully crowned king, not according 
to the customs of the other hereditary dominions, but accord- 
ing to its own laws, rights, and customs.' 

'"Art. 12. The right of making, repealing, and inter- 
preting the laws belongs to the lawfully crowned king, and 
to the states of the realm in the diet assembled, conjointly ; 
and this right cannot be exercised except in the diet of the 
nation. The king shall never attempt to govern by edicts or 
patents, which, moreover, it shall not be lawful for any au- 
thorities to receive, except where such patents are merely 
designed for the more effectual publication of ordinances 
legally enacted.' 

"'Art. 19. The imposts hall never be levied by the king, 
but freely voted by the diet.' 

" It was likewise decreed, that the diet was for the future to 
be assembled every three years, and oftener, if the public welfare 
demanded it. The right of free discussion was likewise asserted. 
The sacred crown of the kingdom was to be kept in the castle 
of Buda, and never to be taken thence without the consent of 
the diet. 

"Thus, in 1790, the fundamental laws of the kingdom of 
Hungary were solemnly reenacted by the diet, and confirmed 
by the king. 

" But the diet of 1790 did not confine its labours to the con- 
firmation of the ancient laws, or the defence of nationality. 
From this period we are to behold the Hungarian nation under 
a new aspect. Hitherto we have seen the nobility of the coun- 
try successfully contending for the preservation of their char- 
tered rights and privileges against the usurpations of Austria. 



195 

We are now to see them engaging with equal energy and reso- 
lution in a yet nobler contest. The attack which Joseph II. 
had made on the constitution of Hungary had, in the course 
of the discussions which it excited, turned the attention of the 
nation back upon the earlier periods of their history, and roused 
inquiry into the original nature and design of their institutions. 
In this investigation it was impossible for the Hungarians not 
to become aware that these institutions had not only been tam- 
pered with and defaced by Austrian policy, but that many 
abuses had been suffered to creep into them, with the conni- 
vance of the nation itself, whether from the example of neigh- 
bouring countries, or the exigencies of barbarous times. They 
perceived, moreover, that many customs which, in their origin, 
had been reasonable and convenient, were now wholly unsuited 
to the needs of the age, and were inconsistent with the pros- 
perity and advancement of the nation. They became sensible, 
above all, that the position in which the privileged classes stood 
with regard to the great body of the people was an unjust one, 
and wholly at variance with those principles of liberty and uni- 
versal equality which lay at the foundation of their political 
constitution. With a people possessed of so high a sense of 
honour as the Magyars, to perceive this injustice was to resolve 
to repair it. Of this liberal movement in Hungary, whose first 
public demonstration was made in the diet of 1790, De Geran- 
do thus speaks : — 

" ' From this time they (the patriots of Hungary) declared 
that, in a modern state, liberty ought to be the portion, not of a 
few, but of all. They asserted that the old word privileges 
ought to be abolished, to be replaced by a word applicable to 
all, — rights. This comprehension of their epoch led them to 
accomplish an unexampled act, to give to the world the new 
spectacle which now meets our eyes ; — an aristocracy demol- 
ishing, of its own accord, stone by stone, the aristocratic edifice ; 
a nobility, under the eyes of an inert government, taking the 
initiative in pronouncing the word of civil equality, and pursu- 
ing its task with order and perseverance, in spite of all obsta- 
cles.' — De V Esprit Public en Hongrie, p. 96. 

" The conduct of the Hungarian reformers is rendered yet 
more worthy of admiration by the fact, that no discontent on 
the part of the peasants themselves had called the attention of 
the nobles to the question of their wrongs. The reformers 



196 

of Hungary were led by their own sense of justice, without any 
external impulse, to undertake the work of the emancipation 
and elevation of the people. But, while it was conceded by 
all that a change must take place in the relations between the 
people and their manorial lords, the manner in which this 
change was to be effected was matter for grave consideration. 
The most ardent reformers proposed the immediate abolition of 
the urbarial dues, without compensation to the proprietor, de- 
claring it to be a simple reparation of an ancient injustice. 
Others were of opinion that such an act would be inconsistent 
with the rights of property, since the dues paid by the peasant 
were simply a form of rent for the use of the land. The sub- 
ject was submitted to a committee, who were instructed to re- 
port upon it at the next assembly of the diet. Other commit- 
tees were appointed to report on the reform of the administra- 
tion, on the education of the people, on the liberty of the press, 
and on the national grievances. 

" The same diet passed many laws renewing and confirming 
the ancient laws, which established entire freedom of religious 
faith. 

" Leopold, on closing the diet, renewed his assurances to the 
nation, of his intention to govern according to the constitution. 
He did not live long enough either to give proof of his since- 
rity, or to disappoint the expectations of the nation. He died 
in February, 1792, and was followed to the tomb by the deep 
regrets of his people. 

" The moderation which he had shown in his short reign had 
done much to appease the minds of his Hungarian subjects, and 
they were prepared to receive his son and successor with very 
different feelings from those with which they had looked forward 
to his own accession to the throne. The first acts of the young 
prince seemed to justify their confidence. He convened the diet 
at Buda within sixteen days after his father's death, and offered 
the assembled states the assurance of his intention to respect 
their institutions and laws. 

" ' I will myself,' said he, ' be the most diligent guardian of 
the constitution. Rest assured that my will shall always be 
subjected to the law, and that, in all my aims, I will be guided 
only by justice, honour, and confidence in the Hungarian peo- 
ple.' * 

* Fessler, Die Geschichten der Uhgern, lOter Bd., S. 658. 



197 

" The royal propositions addressed to the diet confirmed the 
favourable impressions with which the nation already regarded 
their young king. The first two articles interpreted the diplo- 
ma of the coronation in a manner favourable to the constitution. 
The king then called the attention of the diet to the subjects 
left undecided at their last meeting, and concluded with a re- 
quest for subsidies and the augmentation of the army. The 
diet, eager to express its confidence in the sovereign, imme- 
diately voted the increase of the army, and a subsidy of four 
millions to be paid by the nobles. This done, they were pro- 
ceeding to transact the business of the nation, when the king- 
suddenly dissolved the diet. The most important affairs, and 
among them the contemplated reform, were left uncompleted. 
He did not fail, however, to renew his promises of governing- 
according to the constitution : — 

" ' I go from you richer than I came among you ; but not by 
reason of the subsidies I have received from you. These belong 
to the state, not to me. That which I call my own, that in the 
possession of which I place my happiness, is your affection. 
The kingdom I have received by inheritance, but this love and 
mutual confidence is my own work and yours. I will never 
cease from my sincere and zealous exertions for the good of 

our common fatherland Bear to your fellow-citizens the 

solemn assurance that, always mindful of my pledged faith, I 
will be the true guardian and "fulfiller of the laws.' * 

"The diet was summoned again in November, 1796. The 
expenses of the war with France forced the king to ask his 
Hungarian subjects for supplies. On this occasion he dispensed 
with all circumlocution. The royal propositions simply con- 
tained a demand for troops and money. In addition to the 
subsidies which had been voted at the last diet, the Hungarians 
had testified their affection for their young king by large vo- 
luntary offerings. The sum of the contributions in money and 
produce, which had in this way been furnished to the king- 
since the last assembly of the diet, amounted to more than 
fourteen millions of guldens. 

"The diet of 1796 again acceded to the demands of the 
king. They granted him large supplies in money, and fifty 
thousand recruits for the army, on the condition that these 

* Ibid., lOter Bd., S. 600. 



198 

should be incorporated only into Hungarian regiments, and 
should be commanded by Hungarian officers. The diet had 
trusted that, when they had fulfilled the wishes of the king, 
he would show himself ready to listen to the 'representa- 
tions' of the nation. These expectations were disappointed. 
The diet was dissolved before any thing had been done for the 
interests of the country. It was summoned again in 1802. 
Peace had been declared ; the hopes of the nation revived. 
The king, in his opening speech, informed the diet that, peace 
being established, he was now ready to advise with them on 
matters touching the public welfare. He expressed his sense 
of the generosity of the Hungarian nation, and assured them 
that the recollection of their devotion would never be extin- 
guished in his heart. * And now,' said he, ' that peace is con- 
cluded, I wish to bestow my cares on this country, which, by 
its extent, its resources, and the noble character of the people, is 
the chief bulwark of the empire.' This was the preface to a 
declaration that the royal treasury was empty, and that it con- 
cerned the Hungarian honour that the crown should not be left 
without defence. ' Peace,' said he, ' can be maintained only 
by a state of preparation for war.' The demands of the king 
were again granted, but no longer in the same spirit of affec- 
tion and loyalty as formerly. Distrust began to take posses- 
sion of the nation, as they saw their grievances unattended to, 
and the most important reforms delayed. A number of mea- 
sures which had been discussed and accepted by the diet were 
prevented from passing into law, for want of the royal sanc- 
tion. The diet separated with a feeling of deep dissatisfaction. 
The same scenes were repeated in the diets of 1805 and 1807. 
The confidence of the Hungarians in their king was shaken, 
but appeals to Hungarian honour and loyalty had not yet lost 
their effect upon them. They again voted the required sup- 
plies, again presented their grievances, and again saw the con- 
sideration of them deferred. 

" But though the Hungarians had so little reason to place 
confidence in their king, their loyalty was still capable of stand- 
ing a severe proof. Napoleon, who was aware that the war 
against France was very unpopular in Hungary, and that great 
dissatisfaction prevailed in regard to the Austrian policy, ad- 
dressed a proclamation to the Hungarian nation (May, 1809.) 
He offered to establish them as an independent kingdom, if 



199 

they would withdraw their allegiance from the emperor of 
Austria, and assist the French in the overthrow of that empire. 
But the high sense of honour of the Hungarians shrank from 
what had the appearance of treason. It was not in the season 
of danger that they would desert their king. The proposals 
of Napoleon were rejected. 

" The return of peace, in 1815, left the Hungarians at lei- 
sure to devote themselves to the internal improvement of their 
country, and to prosecute the reforms begun in 1790, of which 
the enlightened portion of the nation felt more and more the 
necessity. The Hungarians had now reason to expect some 
proof, on the part of their king, of that affection and grati- 
tude, of whose expression he had been so lavish in the season 
of danger. But the return of peace gave the Austrian cabinet, 
likewise, opportunity to unfold its plans. Francis, now feeling 
himself firmly seated on his imperial throne, resolved thence- 
forth to reign in Hungary without the assistance of the diet. 
The convention of this assembly having been delayed beyond 
the prescribed time, the counties addressed letters to the king, 
representing the urgent wants of the nation, and declaring that 
the public welfare absolutely demanded the convocation of the 
national assembly. These letters remained unanswered. The 
circulars which the congregations, or county assemblies, ad- 
dressed to each other were seized and suppressed. While af- 
fairs were in this position, the empire was threatened with new 
disturbances on the side of Italy. It was necessary to strengthen 
the army and replenish the treasury. As formerly, it is in 
Hungary that these supplies are to be sought, but it is not, as 
formerly, by the free gift of the people that they are to be fur- 
nished. The emperor, by the advice of his cabinet, resolved to 
levy the required supplies by his own absolute authority. There 
were not wanting in the royal council men who had courage 
and firmness enough to oppose the opinion of the majority and 
the wishes of the king. Nemet, who held the office of Direc- 
tor causarum regalium in Hungary, expressed himself with 
true Magyar frankness. He declared in the royal presence, 
that the king would violate the constitution of Hungary and 
his own royal oath, if he suffered himself to be led by his Aus- 
trian counsellors to these rash and illegal measures. ' Do you 
forget,' exclaimed the king, ' that I am emperor and king, and 
that your head is at my disposal V ' I know it well,' replied 



200 

the Hungarian, ' but the liberty of my country and the honour 
of my king are dearer to me than my life.' The counsel of in- 
justice and aggression prevailed. The levying of recruits was 
ordered, and the increase of the impost to four millions of 
florins. Hungary did not submit quietly to this invasion of 
her rights. The counties refused compliance. Imperial com- 
missioners were then appointed, who were to carry into effect 
the royal commands. It was in vain. The news spread ra- 
pidly through the country, and everywhere excited the most 
lively indignation. All possible embarrassments were thrown in 
the way of the commissioners. They could with great difficulty 
obtain horses for their journeys. . At their approach, the public 
functionaries laid down their offices and disappeared. This 
passive opposition was encountered everywhere. In some coun- 
ties it took a yet more decided character. In the end, Francis 
was forced to yield, as Joseph had been ; he had outraged the 
feelings of his subjects to no purpose. However reluctantly, 
he found himself constrained to convene the diet in 1825. 

"At the opening of the diet Francis endeavoured, by a con- 
ciliatory speech, to appease the resentments of the assembly. 
But the members were not satisfied. They required the names 
of the traitors who had misled the king by their counsels. One 
of the magnates being prosecuted for the freedom of his ex- 
pressions, all the deputies supported him, and declared that he 
had expressed the sentiments of all. The prosecution was with- 
drawn. The deputies then addressed to the king a representa- 
tion of the grievances of the nation. To the long list of an- 
cient griefs were now added the recent attempt to levy money 
without the consent of the diet, and the acts of violence com- 
mitted by the royal commissioners. Francis, in his reply, be- 
gan with reproving the deputies for bringing forward their own 
grievances, before considering the royal proposition on the sub- 
ject of the impost. He declared that he would protect the 
faithful subjects who had executed his will. At the same time, 
he expressed regret for what had occurred, but justified it by the 
plea of necessity. In conclusion, he left the question of the impost 
to the decision of the diet. This body, before acceding to his 
demands, required and obtained of the king a renewed confir- 
mation of the fundamental laws of the kingdom. He bound 
himself never more to raise money without the concurrence of 
the diet, and engaged to convoke this assembly every three 



201 

years. On their part, the states voted to raise the amount of 
the impost to four millions. 

"The national assembly, dissolved in 1827, was to be con- 
voked anew in 1830. This was not done without great reluc- 
tance on the part of the Austrian cabinet, which perceived with 
apprehension the effect that the events which took place in 
France in July of that year had produced on the Hungarians. 
But it was necessary to raise subsidies ; and it was no time to 
revolt the minds of the people, at the moment when the coun- 
try was resounding with enthusiastic expressions of its sympa- 
thy with the triumph, in a neighbouring state, of the cause of 
constitutional rights over despotism. The diet was therefore 
convened. But the king, at the same time, gave notice that, 
after a short session devoted to the consideration of the most 
urgent affairs, it would be dissolved, to be convened again the 
following year. The diet met on the 11th of September. The 
king required the raising of recruits, and, the late events hav- 
ing somewhat lessened his confidence in the success of arbitrary 
measures, he accompanied his demand with all those flattering 
expressions which the Austrian kings of Hungary were accus- 
tomed to bestow so liberally on their subjects as often as they 
stood in need of them, and which had but too much effect on 
a people highly sensitive on the point of national honour, and 
devotedly loyal, whenever their duty to their country did not 
come in collision with their deference for their king. The diet 
acceded to the royal demands. It voted the recruits, with the 
usual stipulation, that they should be placed in Hungarian regi- 
ments, and should be commanded by Hungarian officers. The 
king replied evasively, that the Hungarians should be placed in 
these regiments, in preference to any other inhabitants of the 
empire. The diet refused to vote for the raising of the recruits 
without some more positive assurance. The emperor had re- 
course to the Palatine, and desired him to use his personal in- 
fluence to overcome the resistance of the diet. 

" The Archduke Joseph, called to the dignity of Palatine in 
1796, at the age of twenty, had filled his difficult post of medi- 
ator between the king and the people with great discretion. 
If he had been the independent king of Hungary, the nation 
might have found in him one of the wisest and most patriotic 
of its princes, and, under the auspices of an administration, 
prudent, and, at the same time, liberal, might have followed, 
9* 



202 

with sure steps, the path of political reform, and have taken, 
once more, a high place among the powers of Europe. As it 
was, placed as mediator between a people jealous of its liber- 
ties, and a sovereign watchful for an occasion to subvert them, 
— a sovereign to whom he owed, at the same time, the respect 
of a subject and the affection of a brother, — Joseph was forced 
to guide himself by a system of compromises, and, not unfre- 
quently, to play on the generous feelings which he knew so well 
how to excite. The Hungarians, on their part, knew, or be- 
lieved, that the regard which the Archduke Joseph had dis- 
played for their interests had lessened his favour with the impe- 
rial court. He had, then, suffered for them. They repaid him 
with an enthusiastic affection, and the Palatine not seldom won 
from their gratitude concessions which he would in vain have 
expected from their compliance. On the present occasion, called 
upon by the court for aid in an attempted encroachment on 
the rights of Hungary, he felt that it was on this attachment 
for his person that he could alone rely for success. He ad- 
dressed the diet in a speech skilfully framed, which concluded 
with these words : — ' Let, then, the states, in remembrance of 
thirty-five years of services, of efforts consecrated to this king- 
dom, which I proudly regard as my country, and in considera- 
tion of my position as mediator between the king and the na- 
tion, — let the states, I say, consent to show me some manifest- 
ation of their gratitude, by withdrawing their motion.' These 
words did not fail of their intended effect. The recruits were 
voted ; the condition was withdrawn. In three days, the king 
dissolved the diet. 

" But the nation was no longer to be trifled with. The ne- 
cessity for reform was, every day, more strongly and more ex- 
tensively felt. The interval between the dissolution of the diet 
of 1830 and the assembling of that of 1832, was not lost by 
the patriots of Hungary. They employed it in determining on 
the measures of reform to be introduced at the next diet, and 
in concerting their plan of action. The condition of the peas- 
antry was felt to be the subject which most urgently demanded 
attention. One of the most zealous advocates of the cause of 
the people was found in Count Szechenyi, one of the large 
landed proprietors of the kingdom. He prepared the way for 
the reception of the question of the emancipation of the peas- 



203 

antry, by a series of works, which had a great effect in enlight- 
ening the public mind. 

" The Austrian cabinet, in the mean time, had not been idle. 
Having been reluctantly compel] ed to convene the diet, it took 
its own measures to put a check on the designs of the liberal 
party. It gave orders to its agents to leave no arts unemployed, 
and to spare no expense, to defeat the election of the liberal 
candidates.* These efforts were vain. The spirit of liberty 
and the virtue of the people resisted all attempts. The cham- 
ber of deputies was almost wholly composed of liberal mem- 
bers. 

" The Austrian cabinet, too prudent to enter into open contest 
with a movement which was evidently becoming national, af- 
fected to adopt the views of the liberal party, hoping, by an 
apparent and partial acquiescence, to allay the excitement of 
the public mind, and to restrain and direct a movement which 
it could not suppress. The royal propositions, therefore, em- 
bodied some of the principal measures of reform projected by 
the liberals. Among the most important of the subjects to 
which the attention of the diet was called, were the creation of 
the urbarial code, delayed since 1790, the reform of the judi- 
ciary, and a more equitable division of the imposts. 

" Notwithstanding the enthusiasm for liberty which pervaded 
the Hungarian people, and the generous ardour with which her 
enlightened patriots approached the work of reform, it is not 
to be supposed that measures, involving important changes in 
the constitution of the country, were passed without encoun- 
tering opposition. This opposition sprang from two very dif- 
ferent sources. It arose, on the one hand, from the conservative 
spirit of the elder magnates, old Magyar patriots, who regarded 
the institutions of their country with a superstitious affection, 
and in whose eyes it was a sacrilege to lay a finger on one stone 
of this venerable edifice. The organ of this party, composed of 
men who had been the patriots of twenty years before, and to 
whom it is impossible to refuse our respect, was Dessewffy. ' In 
my youth,' cried the venerable noble, ' I defended my country 
against the usurpations of Austria ; in my old age, I will de- 
fend her against the ingratitude of her sons.' The other 

* See De Gerando, De V Esprit Public, p. 174, for the account of the 
elections in the county of Bars. 



204 

and more dangerous source of opposition which the plans of 
the reform party encountered, arose from the influence of the 
Austrian cabinet. This government, true to its constant prin- 
ciple, Divide et impera, while it gave apparent countenance to 
one party, lent its real support to the other. It was not ill 
pleased to see these impracticable Hungarian magnates engaged 
in a contest for their institutions with their own countrymen, 
and those forces divided which had hitherto been concentrated 
in the defence of Hungarian nationality against Austrian en- 
croachment. Thus, while affecting to take the initiative in the 
reforms contemplated by the liberal members of the diet, the 
Austrian government opposed the success of these measures 
with all the weight of its influence. It was no longer as in those 
times when the monarchs found their interest in raising the con- 
dition of the common people. In this nineteenth century, it is 
not the king who shields his prerogatives against the encroach- 
ments of an ambitious nobility ; it is king and aristocracy who 
tremble together, before the advance of a new power, which 
threatens them both with extinction. 

" But the cause of liberty was not without its advocates in 
the upper house. The younger magnates,* with the exception 
of those who held places under the government, shared warmly 
in the liberal spirit of the time, and, with the generous ardour 

* The diet of Huogary ia composed of two chambers, or "tables," 
as they are there called. 

At the first table sit the dignitaries of the church and the state, 
and the titled nobility, or magnates. This table is presided over by 
the Palatine. 

The second table is composed of the deputies of the counties. Each 
county sends two deputies. The royal cities, and certain chapters and 
privileged districts, send also their deputies to the diet. These, however, 
before the extension of representation in 1848, had but one collective 
vote. Croatia sent three deputies to the diet, one of which sat in the 
upper and two in the lower house. The chambar of magnates did not 
form a part of the ancient constitution of Hungary. Before the acces- 
sion of the Archdukes of Austria, the diets were held in the open air, 
and all the noble inhabitants of the country had a right to be present 
at them, and take part in the deliberations. The foreign government 
found its account in raising up a class whose interests were separated 
from those of the main body of the nation. The " second table," or 
chamber of deputies, is still called, by distinction, " the States." The 
initiative belongs to the king and the second table of the diet. The 
deputies are bound to vote according to the instruction of their constitu- 
ents, and can be recalled if they fail to satisfy them. 



205 

of youth, were ready to make any sacrifice which the wel- 
fare of their country demanded. At their head was the noble 
Szechenyi, who supported the cause of freedom and justice with 
the double power of eloquence and reason. It was he who 
gave the first blow to the peculiar privileges of the aristo- 
cratic class. He brought forward a project for a suspension 
bridge between Pest and Buda. He proposed that all who pass- 
ed this bridge, whether peasant or noble, should be subjected 
to the toll. This question assumed importance from the prin- 
ciple involved in it. The exemption from all public charges was 
one of the most cherished privileges of the nobles. It was a 
question in which their pride was more concerned than their 
pecuniary interest. Szechenyi knew how to combat the pride 
of the Magyars by calling on their generosity. 

" ' Do you call it a privilege, ' said he, ' to be debarred from 
contributing to the advancement of your country ? Is it a priv- 
ilege to be obliged to devote your wealth only to your own sel- 
fish gratification, while your country languishes in perpetual 
poverty ? Will you build houses, and plant trees, and lay out 
walks through your grounds, while the country has neither roads, 
nor public buildings, nor navigation, nor commerce ? After all, 
what is the question before you ? Are you called to sacrifice 
your constitution to a foreign power ? No ; it is yourselves who 
are to pronounce the decision. The right to give ourselves laws, 
the right to restrain our own liberties, is not that, in itself, the 
highest liberty ! ' 

" The measure was carried. The diet then proceeded to pass 
several other laws, which touched yet more nearly the preroga- 
tives of the aristocracy. The constitutional right of the noble 
to be exempted from arrest, except on a charge of high treason, 
was abolished. The judicial power was taken from the lord of 
the manor. The peasant received the right of instituting a suit 
against a noble, and even against his own manorial lord. It 
was especially to the improvement of the peasantry that the diet 
of 1832-36 "devoted its energies. The right of free migration, 
which had been repeatedly adjudged to the peasant by former 
diets, and had as often fallen into disuse, was confirmed. The 
amount of land which he had a right to hold for his own use 
was increased ; the vexatious exactions, known by the name of 
the little tithes, abolished ; and the robot, or soccage labour, re- 
duced to fifty-two days in the year. The most important mea- 



206 

sure was that which decreed to the peasant the right of redeem- 
ing the tized (tithes) and robot (corvees or soccage-work), by- 
means of contracts passed between him and the manorial pro- 
prietor, and of thus becoming the owner of the soil he tilled.* 
In addition to these important measures, the diet of 1832 pass- 
ed several bills for internal improvements. This diet was not, 
however, content with providing only for the material wants of 
the country. The friends of reform had long been desirous of 
establishing a system of public instruction. They had repeat- 
edly called the attention of the government to this subject, but 
always without effect. The representations offered by the pres- 
ent diet were not more successful. The education of the people 
was too dangerous a power to be trusted in the hands of re- 
formers ; and the Austrian cabinet, emboldened by the support 
of the conservative party in the upper house, felt itself strong 
enough to venture on open acts of opposition to the views of 
the liberal party. This conduct of the government called forth 
the liveliest indignation in the chamber of deputies. 

" ' The government,' said Bezeredy, ' sins against its own con- 
science in refusing to permit us to secure instruction to our chil- 
dren and our fellow-countrymen. But patience has its limits. 
Let the government look to its acts. Its conduct forces the na- 
tion to rely on itself. I call upon you, then, I call upon the 
whole nation, to unite in paying to our country this most neces- 
sary duty ; to unite in fulfilling a sublime, a holy work, that of 
elevating the people.' 

" ' Let us thank the government,' said Deak, ' let us thank 
the government. There are among us those who cherish, if not 
a full confidence, at least a hope, that the government is not 
hostile to the welfare of our country. But all the answers of 
the court have been calculated to dispel these illusions. Let us, 
then, thank the government, for illusion is the worst of evils. 
We ask of the government neither money nor counsel ; we 
make no attempt on the royal prerogative ; we simply ask to be 
allowed to frame a law for the moral and material development 
of the people. And the government interferes to prevent us. 
But what will it gain by this interference ? In more than one 
heart will be planted the bitter conviction, that the Austrian 

* Many proprietors had already made contracts of this kind with 
their peasants, though the only security for their fulfilment was the 
good faith of the parties. 



207 

government dreads the prosperity of Hungary, and labours to 
repress it. False calculations ! Can there be more short-sighted 
policy than to excite in us such bitter feelings, at the very mo- 
ment of the dissolution of the diet, that we may communicate to 
our constituents these feelings, which will, in three years, again 
animate the representatives of the country ? It is not necessary 
to be a prophet, to predict that this policy of the government 
will favour the development of the national faculties more than 
all polytechnic institutions.' 

"The diet separated in May, 1836. The result of its labours 
fell short of the wishes and plans of the reformers, yet they 
must be regarded as having gained a signal victory. This vic- 
tory was not achieved without cost. Every triumph of truth 
and justice has had its martyrs. 

"It was during the sitting of the diet of 1832-36, that the 
name of Kossuth was heard for the first time. He attended 
the diet as scribe for some of the deputies. He had learned 
the art of short-hand writing, in order the better to qualify him- 
self for making reports of the discussions in the diet. These 
reports he lithographed and circulated as a newspaper. The 
government declared the publication of the proceedings of the 
diet in this way to be illegal.* Kossuth then organized a so- 
ciety of young men, composed chiefly of the scribes who at- 
tended the deputies ; these copied the journal by hand, and it 
was then transmitted to the subscribers through the post, in the 
form of a letter. These letters were seized in the post-office, 
and destroyed. This infringement of their rights only served 
to rouse the indignation of the people, and to give celebrity to 
the journal. The papers were thenceforth carried by the county 
messengers, and delivered at the doors of the subscribers. After 
the closing of the diet, Kossuth continued to edit his journal, 
giving, in the place of the deliberations of the diet, the discus- 
sions in the county assemblies. This journal being interdicted 

* It was of great importance to the government to prevent the pub- 
lication of the debates in the diet. Every art was put in practice by 
the Austrian cabinet, to deceive the people in regard to the views of 
the opposition party. Emissaries were employed to diffuse among the 
pesantry an impression that the nobles were unfriendly to their in- 
terests, and prevented the benefits which their ' good father, the em- 
peror,' wished to bestow on them. Nothing could tend more effectually 
to disabuse them, than giving publicity to the proceedings of the diet. 



208 

by the government, Kossuth made application to the county of 
Pest, and was formally authorized to continue it. 

" The censorship of the press has never existed by law in 
Hungary, but, since the awakening of liberal ideas in that 
country, the Austrian government has exercised a censorship 
of the most formidable kind. It could not attack the publisher 
or author by process of law ; but by a sudden act of arbitrary 
power, it cut off from the world the utterer of dangerous doc- 
trines, and smothered his voice in the silence of the dungeon. 
Since the beginning of the present century, not less than forty 
Hungarian patriots had met this fate. It was thus that Kos- 
suth was now dealt with. He was seized in the middle of the 
night, and consigned to a dungeon in Buda. The government 
arrested, at the same time, the leaders of a debating society, 
formed by some young men, who met for the purpose of poli- 
tical and literary discussions. Among these was Lovassy, a 
young man of brilliant talents and an ardent patriot. When 
the amnesty of 1840 restored him to liberty, he was no longer 
to be recognized ; the horrors of the dungeon had deprived 
him of reason. 

"Another victim of the vengeance of the government was 
the Baron Wesselenyi. This nobleman was born of a family 
which had already made sacrifices to liberty. His ancestor, 
the Palatine, had defended the liberties of Hungary against 
the encroachments of Leopold, and would have lost his life on 
the scaffold, if he had not found refuge in Transylvania. The 
father of Wesselenyi had sustained in his castle, for a whole 
day, the attack of a regiment of dragoons sent against him by 
Joseph II. His mother was a noble woman, who early im- 
pressed on his mind the principles of justice and benevolence. 
Wesselenyi had long been an object of fear to the Austrian 
government. He possessed large estates both in Hungary and 
Transylvania ; this gave him a right to sit in the diet of both 
kingdoms. 

"The Transylvanians, not less attached to their liberties than 
the Hungarians, had seen them even more boldly infringed. 
The constitution of that kingdom requires that the king shall 
summon the diet every year. During the war with Napoleon, 
its convention had been suspended, and, after the return of 
peace, the Austrian cabinet still continued to govern the king- 
dom as a province of the empire. The dissatisfaction of the 



209 

people was great. They watched with deep interest the move- 
ments of the patriots in the sister kingdom. They had seen 
these succeed in forcing from the government the restoration 
of their political rights, after a suspension of thirteen years. 
The news of the revolution of July, in Paris, which seemed 
at that time an event full of good augury for all who were 
engaged, whether openly or silently, in a struggle for their 
rights, spread rapidly through the country, and added to the 
popular excitement. It was then that Wesselenyi appeared on 
the scene. He was a man peculiarly fitted to guide and con- 
trol a popular movement. He possessed a vigorous intellect, 
improved by the highest degree of cultivation, invincible firm- 
ness, and a disinterestedness which his enemies have never im- 
pugned. He was not less endowed with all those qualities 
which possess a peculiar influence over the popular mind. To 
the prestige of high birth, he added the advantages of wealth, 
an imposing person, and a captivating eloquence. He possessed 
Herculean strength, — a gift held in high respect by a simple 
and martial people, — and an intrepid, almost reckless courage, 
which shrank from no form of danger, now leading him to brave 
the vengeance of a despotic government, now to put off alone 
at midnight in a frail boat, to save from the waters of the 
Danube the victims of an inundation.* Wesselenyi might as 
easily have roused the Szeklers and Magyars of Transylvania to 
armed insurrection, as to a constitutional vindication of their 
rights. But while he called them to action, he restrained their 
enthusiasm within the bounds of law. He passed rapidly through 
the country, haranguing the congregations. He turned the 
excitement and unfixed purposes of the people to a single point. 
He brought the different counties into communication with each 
other, and led them to combine to demand the restoration of 
their political rights. The people rose at his summons, and the 
counties unanimously demanded of the king the convocation of 
the diet. The government did not venture to refuse the demand. 
The convocation of the diet was proclaimed. Wesselenyi had 
gained a victory over the Austrian cabinet ; but one which they 

* During the terrible inundation which took place on the breaking 
up of the ice in the Danube, in 1838, it is said that Wesselenyi saved 
the lives of not less than two hundred persons. He remained on the 
river for several days and nights, in an open boat, in continual danger 
from the masses of ice which were floating down the river. 



210 

would not fail to make him expiate. With this ardent and 
fearless temper, he was not long in offering them an occasion. 
During the diet of 1832-36, at the time when the government 
was endeavouring, through its emissaries, to misrepresent the 
views of the liberal party, and to excite the jealousies and pre- 
judices of the nobles in opposition to reform, Wesselenyi, in the 
county meeting of Szathmar, detailed and explained the mea- 
sures which were contemplated by the reform party. In the 
course of his speech, he spoke bitterly of the injustice which 
the people suffered from the privileges of the aristocracy, and 
the check which the prosperity of the nation received from the 
policy of the government. Some of his expressions were pro- 
nounced to be treasonable, and he was condemned to three 
years' imprisonment. It was immediately after his noble exer- 
tions during the inundation, and while his name was on all lips, 
that this decree was carried into execution. Three years' im- 
prisonment in an Austrian dungeon is a sentence whose terrors, 
in this country, cannot be easily comprehended. On a vigorous 
frame and energetic temperament, like Wesselenyi's, the damp 
and squalor of the dungeon, the privation of light and air, seem 
to act even more powerfully than on frailer and more elastic 
constitutions. In a year and a half, their work was done on 
Wesselenyi. The government had no longer anything to ap- 
prehend from him. Blind and decrepit, he was permitted to 
leave his dungeon, on parole, to repair to Grafenberg. He was 
finally released by the amnesty of 1840. 

" ' It is with a noble serenity,' says De Gerando, ' that Wes- 
selenyi has borne the persecutions which have followed him. 
Proscribed for many years, broken by moral and physical pain, 
he has been able at length to return to his country, and it is 
to her that, prematurely old through suffering, he consecrates 
his last wishes and his last thoughts.'* 

" The diet was again convened in 1839. The Austrian ca- 
binet had returned to its old policy. The royal propositions 
contained no allusion to the topics which chiefly occupied the 
public mind. The royal speech at the opening of the diet 
concluded with these words : — 

" * As we have no greater desire than to testify to you, by 
our entire confidence, a love equal to that of our ancestors of 

* La Transylvanie. 



211 

glorious memory, so, likewise, we do not doubt, in any man- 
ner, of the zeal of our faithful states, nor of their eagerness to 
show themselves the worthy sons of those who have assured to 
the Hungarians the reputation of a generous nation. Among 
the subjects of which we shall treat with you, there is one 
which has its guarantee in the noble Hungarian character, 
since it tends to maintain the army in a condition worthy of 
its honour and glory.' 

" This prefaced, after the ancient fashion of the Austrian 
kings of Hungary, a demand for subsidies. 

"The first of the royal propositions demanded the reinforce- 
ment of the army ; the second, supplies for its support. The 
only point affecting the interests of the country to which it 
called the attention of the diet, was the regulation of the 
course of the Danube. 

" The liberal party did not, however, lose ground in the diet 
of ] 839. Some new advantages were acquired for the pea- 
sant, and the privileges of the nobles were still further re- 
trenched. The diet was dissolved on the 3d of May, 1840. 
The government, convinced by the result of this diet, of the 
strength of the liberal party, returned once more into the path 
of concession. At the closing of the diet, an amnesty for poli- 
tical offences was proclaimed. The prosecutions were stopped, 
and the prisoners set at liberty. Among these was Kossuth. 
He left his dungeon, with his bodily frame wasted and enfee- 
bled, but with his mental faculties unimpaired and his energy 
unsubdued. He was released in May, 1840. On the 12th of 
July, of the same year, appeared the first number of the Pesti 
Hirlap. It was published by the bookseller Heckenast. The 
name of the editor was concealed. Never, since the rise of 
periodical literature, did journalist exercise such a power as 
that swayed by the unknown editor of the Pesti Hirlap. He 
attacked wrong and injustice in whatever quarter they showed 
themselves. He not only maintained a contest with the go- 
vernment for the constitutional liberties of the kingdom, but 
brought to light all malpractices which took place in the ad- 
ministration of public affairs throughout the country. Abuses 
to which the diet had in vain attempted to bring a remedy, fell 
before the attacks of the Pesti Hirlap. The minute know- 
ledge which the editor displayed of the affairs of every part of 
the kingdom,— -the vigilance from which it seemed that no- 



212 

thing could be hid, — above all, his rigorous justice, — inspired 
both admiration and fear, and gave a force to his judgments 
which nothing could withstand. In six months after its first 
publication, this journal numbered eleven thousand subscri- 
bers. These were of all classes and of all races. It was sought 
with equal eagerness by the Slaves and the Germans, as by the 
Magyars. 

" But with the increased diffusion of liberal opinions, the op- 
position to them strengthened, and was gradually assuming a 
more selfish character. It became apparent that the advocates 
of reform would not be content with merely removing the most 
flagrant abuses. When the untitled nobility had laid down all 
the privileges which separated them from the common people, 
it was not to be supposed that the nation would see with indif- 
ference the enormous influence exerted in the state by a few 
families.* Already some of the liberal party had recalled the 
fact that the chamber of magnates was an innovation intro- 
duced under the Austrian administration, and there were many 
indications that the titled aristocracy would be called on to 
make some sacrifices in their turn. Experience has shown, 
again and again, that men who are capable, individually, of 
making the greatest sacrifices, become selfish and tenacious as 
members of an order. The interests of the magnates of Hun- 
gary, and those of the emperor of Austria, became every day 
more closely intertwined. There were still, however, among 
them noble examples of patriotism and disinterestedness. Sze- 
chenyi was still true to the principles of his youth. The name 
of Batthyanyi has been already consecrated by martyrdom. 

"The diet was again convened for 1843. The Austrian cab- 
inet had now abandoned the idea of intimidation, and returned 
to the line of policy it had adopted in 1832. The royal pro- 
positions called the attention of the diet to some of the principal 
measures of reform demanded by the liberal party. The charge 
of defeating them was left to the upper house. The two parties 
in the state, that adverse and that favourable to reform, were 
already known by the names of the government party and the 
opposition. Among the opponents of reform were found all 
who held offices by the appointment of the crown, and likewise 

* Every member of a magnate family, after he has attained the age 
of twenty-four, has a right to a seat at the first table of the diet. — De 
Gerando. 



213 

— with regret it must bespoken — the dignitaries of the Church, 
who gave their influence and their votes constantly on tbe side 
of the Austrian government. Meanwhile, the same means 
were put in requisition, as in the case of the former diet, to 
defeat the election of the liberal candidates. Money was not 
spared. All the influence of the government and of the conser- 
vative magnates was called into exercise. But without effect. 
The voice of the nation pronounced itself, with decision, for the 
liberal side. The party of reform had, as before, a very large 
majority in the lower house. New victories were obtained for 
the cause of freedom. The most important measure which 
was passed during this session of the diet was that which gave 
the peasant the right to become the possessor of landed pro- 
perty, without restriction. The law of 1836 had given him the 
power of acquiring the property of the land which he held as 
tenant, by means of contracts between himself and the mano- 
rial lord. The act of 1843 permitted him to become the own- 
er, by purchase, of noble property, as if himself noble. The 
advocates of this bill took the ground, that, by their ancient 
constitution, the peasant possessed this right, and that it was 
but a revival and confirmation of a law already existing, though 
long unrecognized. While this question was under debate, one 
of the members proposed, as an amendment, that this right 
should be extended only to such peasants as understood the 
Hungarian language ; but he was instantly reminded by his 
colleagues, that ' the law gave all the inhabitants of Hungary 
the title of Hungarians, and that all, having equally shed their 
blood for the defence of the country, had a right to share in the 
same advantages.' The act was passed without any condition. 
It was likewise carried in the upper house, where it owed its 
success chiefly to the exertions of Count Szechenyi. 

"Another very important measure, which likewise originated 
at the second table, was carried during the diet of 1843. This 
was a law by which all public functions were rendered accessi- 
ble to the non-nobles. 

" The liberal party could not, however, yet succeed in ob- 
taining the passage of a law for the equal distribution of the 
taxes. It was in vain that Szechenyi exerted all his eloquence. 
The victory was still delayed. But, in the mean time, in anti- 
cipation of the law, great numbers of the liberal party caused 
themselves to be inscribed on the list of those subject to taxa- 



214 

tion. ' There is not a county,' says De Gerando, ' in which the 
liberals have not, in crowds, given this proof of their patriotism.'* 

" The chamber of deputies attempted several other measures 
of reform, which were lost through the opposition of the upper 
house. Among these were, the abolition of the aviticitas, and 
the introduction of trial by jury. The states likewise passed 
some decrees favourable to Hungarian commerce ; f these hav- 
ing, with some difficulty, passed the upper house, we*e by the 
government ' deferred to the next diet,' — a common mode, with 
the Austrian cabinat, of disposing of measures to which it does 
not venture to give a direct veto. 

" The liberal members of the diet had not succeeded in carry- 
ing all their measures, but, during the short time they had been 
in session, they had rendered great service to the country, and 
they were confident of obtaining yet greater victories at the 
next convention of the national assembly, which was to take 
place in 1847. 

"The government in 1845, finding all its attempts to arrest 
the progress of the liberal party unsuccessful, resolved to renew 
the attempt which had been made in the time of Joseph, and 
attack the liberty of Hungary in its very stronghold, — the mu- 
nicipal governments. Hungary has been, from the earliest 
times, divided into counties, each of which possesses an inde- 
pendent administration ; so that the kingdom may be said to 

* Bezeredy was one of the first to set this honorable example. The 
following letter, addressed to him by the peasants of the village of Bitske 
in the county of Fejer, dated April 5, 1845, will give an idea of the 
character of the Hungarian peasantry, and the feeling which subsists 
between them and the nobles. In this country, the great majority of 
the inhabitants are of the Magyar race. 

" The patriotic act by which, faithful to holy and eternal justice, 
you have been the first to renounce the right of exemption from tax- 
ation, — this act, truly worthy of a noble, has already, to the honour of 
our aristocracy be it said, found many imitators. Those who have fol- 
lowed your example have made the most worthy recognition of your 
action. "We also, who believe that, in taking part in our burdens, you 
have not lowered yourself to our level, but have raised us to yourselves, 
all regard it as a sacred duty to express to you our ardent gratitude 
for this noble sacrifice, which opens a new era to our country. May 
God grant, for the glory of the country and for our happiness, that your 
life may be long, and that your spirit may inspire the whole world." 

f Very severe restrictions were imposed by Austria on Hungarian 
commerce, 



215 

be composed of a number of small states, united by a federal 
compact, and represented, by their deputies, in the general diet 
of the nation. Each of these counties is presided over by a 
Foispan, or supreme count, who is usually one of the large 
landed proprietors of the county. Under him is an Alispan 
(Viscount), on whom the principal business of the county de- 
volves. The salaries of these officers are, on the true republi- 
can principle, very moderate. The honour of serving the coun- 
try is regarded as sufficient recompense. The law provides, 
that, in case of neglect of duty on the part of the Foispan, the 
king may, at the instance of the county, oblige him to resign 
his office into the hands of an administrator, to be named by 
the king. The government made the absence of some of these 
magistrates from the counties over which they presided the pre- 
text for a general displacement. This was done without the 
consent of the counties, and even in cases where the Foispan 
had resigned his other offices for the purpose of devoting him- 
self to the affairs of his county. The new administrators brought 
with them a complete set of under officers, and, instead of re- 
ceiving the moderate stipend awarded by the county to its chief 
magistrate, had very large salaries from the Austrian govern- 
ment. It was the intention of the cabinet, by this illegal meas- 
ure, to overrule the elections, as it had already done in Croatia.* 

* Kossuth, in March, 1845, soon after this arbitrary act of govern- 
ment was carried into effect, addressed the county of Pest in a speech 
in which he pointed out all the dangers to the country which were in- 
volved in this measure, and all the evils which must result , and which 
actually did afterwards result, from it. We have not room for this 
speech. We give the openiug and closing passages. 

"Although the future of our country appears to me covered by a 
dark veil, I cannot deny that the hope of a better destiny has some- 
times beamed before my eyes. One of these moments of illusion pre- 
sented itself when the government seemed ready to unite in our views, 
and to walk with us on the path of progress which had been smoothed 
by our efforts ; when it seemed to offer us its assistance in repairing the 
faults of our fathers, and raising the people from their sad condition. 
"We were then ready to banish the remembrance of three centuries of 
sorrow, and to give ourselves to the labours which were to replace this 
mournful but sacred struggle in which we had been engaged for the 
defence of our rights and our liberties. Alas ! the illusion quickly va- 
nished, and we found ourselves still alone on the path of progress. 
One step more and the struggle recommenced. So be it then ; those 
who were ready to reconcile themselves with power will again defend 
their rights as men and citizens 



216 

The appointment of these administrators excited an indigna- 
tion, which their conduct did not tend to allay. It was in vain, 
however, that the counties presented remonstrances to the king 
against the maladministration of these functionaries. All com- 
plaints were disregarded, and this new encroachment on their 
rights was added to the list of grievances for whose redress the 
nation was to combat at the next meeting of the diet. 

"In June, 184*7, the opposition party issued a programme 
of the measures which they intended to advocate at the next 
meeting of the diet. They begin with declaring that, in giving 
their opposition or their support, they shall have regard, not to 
persons, but to acts ; that they shall disapprove of those acts of 
the government only which are, in their form or their essence, 
illegal, or which are calculated to affect injuriously the interests 
of the country. They proceed to recount some of the most 
serious of the long-neglected grievances of the nation : — 

" ' Our heavy grievances, so many times exposed, after a long 
course of years, in which we have asked, urged, waited, have 
remained even to this day without a remedy. They have be- 
come more bitter, because our legitimate complaints, so often 
heard, have never produced any result. It is for this reason 
that confidence and hope begin to fail. 

" ' In the mass of our grievances there are some on which 
the opinion of the whole nation is unanimous, including the 
men who are now members of the Hungarian government. 
Nevertheless, the government does not seek to remedy the 
evil ; we cannot see, on their part, any intention of relieving it. 

In addition to our complaints of long standing, we find 

new grievances in recent acts of the government. We have no 
need to relate them in full ; the public consultations of the 

" It has been said, — what has not been said to justify the govern- 
ment ? — that order rendered these illegal measures necessary. Order ! 
I do not know a word of which despotism has made a more insolent 
abuse. It is in the name of order that Nicholas has effaced Poland 
from the rank of nations, and that king Ernest has annihilated the con- 
stitution of Hanover. It was in the name of order that Philip II. made 
a cemetery of Belgium. This order, thanks be to God, Hungary does 
not know, nor does she desire to know it. Hungary is governed only 
by laws, and, if order requires a change in the government, the nation 
must assemble and assent to the change. Any measure which is arbi- 
trarily imposed is not order, but illegality, despotism, that is to say, 
disorder." 



217 

counties, their representations and their circulars, have already 
fully exposed and registered them In this alarm- 
ing situation of our country, we must strive to increase and 
strengthen the legal guarantees of our constitutional existence. 
We regard the responsibility of the government as one of these 
guarantees. This belongs to the very nature of constitutional 
government, and will form the best defence of the Hungarian 
government against the pernicious influence of foreign elements. 

** 'Among the constitutional guarantees we count publicity. 
This we will maintain, with all our force, in regard to every 
branch of public life. We regard as a constitutional guarantee, 
and as a necessary means to our future national development, 
the liberty of the press, limited by suitable laws. We shall 
therefore insist upon the abolition of the censorship, which has 
been introduced contrary to law. 

" ' We regard it as legal, equitable, and as important for the 
increase of the national strength and the security of our inde- 
pendence, that Transylvania and Hungary should be fully and 
legally united ; that the two nations may be restored to each 
other, and the claims of kindred and the long-expressed wishes 
of both countries satisfied. 

" ' But we shall not regard our mission as accomplished when 
we have fortified the guarantees of our constitutional existence. 
We believe ourselves called to labour continually for the accom- 
plishment of all just reforms. We therefore resolutely declare, 
that we shall remain, for the future, on the ground on which 
the history of the last years has made the name of opposition 
synonymous with that of reform 

" ' In conformity with all that precedes, while we regard it as 
our indispensable duty to guard the right of the initiative, we 
also hold it our duty openly and clearly to point out the prin- 
cipal questions whose prompt solution we believe necessary for 
the good of the country : — 

"'1. The equal distribution of the public burdens. We 

regard it as our principal duty to lighten the burdens of the 

people, who have hitherto been alone subjected to taxation. 

We wish in this respect, also, to strengthen our constitutional 

guarantees. We desire that the diet should decide as to the 

disposition of the impost. 

" ' 2. Participation of the non-nobles, of the inhabitants 
10 



218 

of the royal cities, and of the free districts, in legislative and 
municipal rights. * 

'"3. Equality before the law. 

" ' 4. The abolition of the urbarial dues, with indemnity 
to the landed proprietors. We think it desirable that steps 
should be taken to render the redemption of these univer- 
sal, through the assistance of the state. 

"'5. Security given to credit and property by the aboli- 
tion of the aviticitas. 

" ' We shall labour strenuously to call into life all that can 
tend to the material and intellectual development of the coun- 
try. We shall endeavour to give to popular education, that 
powerful engine of national development, such a direction as 
shall form able and patriotic citizens, that the people may, by 
this means, likewise attain to personal independence 

" ' While labouring for the accomplishment of these ends, 
we shall never forget the relations which, by the terms of the 
Pragmatic Sanction, exist between Hungary and the hereditary 
states of Austria. But at the same time, we shall hold fast to 
the tenth article of 1790, by which the royal word, sanctified 
by an oath, guaranteed to our nation that Hungary is a free 
country, independent in its whole system of legislation and of ad- 
ministration, and that it is not subordinate to any other country.' 

" The events which took place in France and Austria in the 
spring of 1848 gave to the cause of liberal principles a speedier 
triumph than its advocates had anticipated for it. Ferdinand, 
in the midst of a crumbling empire, was in no condition to re- 
fuse the demands of his people. Immediately after the revolu- 
tion of the 13th of March in Vienna, the opposition party in 
Hungary issued a proclamation, headed, ' Mit kivdn a magyar 
nemzet V — ' What asks the Magyar nation ? ' 

" This manifesto sets forth twelve points of reform : — 
" ' 1. We ask freedom of the press, and the abolition* of 

the censorship. 

* It has been said, among other things, by those writers who support 
the Austrian views, that the abolition of the disabilities of the unprivi- 
leged class, decreed by the diet in 1848, was a measure of policy intended 
to secure the cooperation of the people in a projected revolution. This 
programme, published eight months before the revolution in Paris, which 
gave occasion to that at Vienna, offers a sufficient answer to this assertion. 



219 

" ' 2. A responsible ministry at Buda. 

" * 3. Annual diet at Pest. 

"'4. Equality before the law, both as regards religious and 
civil rights. 

'"5. A national guard. 

" ' 6. An equal distribution of the public burdens. 

" * 7. Abolition of the urbarial relations. 

" ' 8. Trial by jury. 

" * 9. Representation on the principle of equality. 

" * 10. A national bank. 

" ' 11. The army shall be required to take the oath to the 
constitution ; the Magyar troops shall not be taken out of 
the country ; the foreign troops shall be withdrawn. 

" ' 12. Union with Transylvania.' * 
" To these articles, at the suggestion of Vahot, was added, 
the release of prisoners confined for political offences, f 

" It is to be observed that these demands for equality before 
the law, and an equal distribution of the taxes, were not made 

* Before the union of Transylvania with Hungary, there were some 
important differences in the political constitutions of the two countries. 
In Transylvania a distinction of races was recognized. In the Tran- 
sylvanian diet, the Magyars, the Szeklers, and the Saxons were repre- 
sented as distinct nationalities, by their respective deputies. The 
Wallachian inhabitants of the country were not represented in the diet 
as a distinct race ; they were counted as Magyars. A Wallachian noble 
might be elected to the diet, but he sat there as a Magyar. Among 
the Szeklers, a race closely kindred to the Magyars, the distinction be- 
tween noble and non-noble has never been introduced. They have pre- 
served their ancient institutions in greater purity than the Magyars. 
By the union of Transylvania with Hungary, all political distinctions 
founded on difference of race were abolished : the same system of re- 
presentation was established in Transylvania as in Hungary ; all the 
inhabitants, without distinction of race, were admitted in the right of 
suffrage, the possession of a very small amount of yearly income being 
the only qualification required. 

t " We have state prisoners," says Biranyi, " who, victims of an ar- 
bitrary act of power, have been pining for years in horrible dungeons. 
It would have been shameful to have forgotten them in the list of the 
national demands." — Pesti Forradalom, Pest, 1848. 

" An inconsiderate word, or a single passage in a perhaps prudently 
written book, torn out of its connection, and invested with an arbi- 
trary meaning, was all that was needed to stamp a man as a political 
criminal. This was the easiest means of putting out of the way men 
of distinguished abilities, who might have been able to further the wel- 
fare of their country. 1 '— Berffi, Ein Blatt Volksgeschichte. Pest, 1848. 



220 

by those who suffered by the existing injustice, — until these re- 
forms were carried, these had no voice in any public matter, — 
but by the very persons whose privileges were to be abrogated. 

" These measures of reform were rapidly passed by the diet. 
A deputation of Hungarian nobles then proceeded to Vienna, 
to lay them before the king, and obtain his sanction. 

" On the 19th of March, placards, affixed to the walls of Pest, 
announced to the people that the royal assent to their demands 
had been obtained. A copy of a letter was given, addressed 
by the Palatine to Count Batthyanyi, empowering him to form 
the long-desired Hungarian ministry. This announcement 
seemed to give the final pledge of the reality and permanence 
of their newly gained freedom. The people were satisfied. 
They had never had any other desire than to live quietly under 
just and equal laws. They believed their end accomplished. 
A partaker in the scenes of the 15th to the 19th of March, 
writing while the hopes of the people were still fresh, and be- 
fore they had even a foreboding of the terrible disenchantment 
which was to follow, speaks thus : — 

" ' That which in Italy has cost streams of blood, that to 
which, in France, hundreds and hundreds of men fell as sin- 
offerings, that which Germany must buy with blood, and again 
blood, — that have we Hungarians, who have been decried, 
through all Europe, as a seditious, lawless, turbulent people, 
gained without any disturbance of the public order. Our vic- 
tory was no victory of force, but a victory of right, — a victory 
of intelligence. Our revolution was a revolution against disor- 
der, to obtain the highest good of a free people, — order.' * 

"Another eyewitness thus describes the effect produced on the 
people of Pest by the announcement of the royal assent : — 

" ' It would be impossible to describe the joy which every- 
where manifested itself. With deeply penetrated, devout hearts, 
we hastened to the church, to give thanks to the Omnipotent 
for this speedy bloodless accomplishment of our transformation. 
The church, when we entered, was filled with people, the sight 
of whose deep, enthusiastic devotion elevated the heart with a 
sublime feeling. When we left the church, I felt as if newly 
born, newly baptized.' f 

* Berffi. Der 16. Marz, 1848, in Pest. Ein Blatt Volksgeschichte 
f Pesti Forradalom. lrta Birdnyi Akos. Pesten, 1848. 



221 

" But this apparent triumph of their rights did but hasten 
the crisis which Austria had been for year preparing for the 
Hungarian nation.* While they were returning thanks to God 
for their freedom, redeemed without blood, Jellachich was re- 
ceiving his orders from the Austrian cabinet. 

" On the 24th of March, only five days after the date of the 
letter to Count Batthyanyi, which had excited so much joy 
and gratitude among the people, the Palatine Stephen, son of 
the old, beloved Palatine Joseph, and who was himself pos- 
sessed of the affection and confidence of the Hungarian people, 
addressed to the emperor a letter, in which he set forth the 
* three measures' through which ' alone' he ' hoped to accom- 
plish anything in Hungary.' 

" The first measure was to withdraw all the military force 
from the country, and to ' abandon it to entire devastation,' 
(dieses der ganzlichen Verwustung zu iiberlassen,) to ' pillage 
and fire,' while the government was to look passively on. The 
second measure was to make an attempt upon Count Batthya- 
nyi, the President of the Hungarian ministry, and, through 
his means, ' to save all that is to be saved.' The third mea- 
sure was to recall the Palatine, and to send a royal commis- 
sioner, invested with extraordinary powers, with a considerable 
armed force, to Presburg, who should repair to Pest, after the 
dissolution of the diet, and there carry on the government 

* Our limits will not allow us, at the preseut time, to enter into 
the history of the intrigues and illegal proceedings of Austria in the 
southern provinces of Hungary, and more especially in Croatia, for 
many years before the breaking out of hostilities. The citizens of this 
latter kingdom were, in many places, debarred from the exercise of 
their political rights. They were attacked and driven from the place 
of election by the members of the Illyriau faction, furnished with arms 
from the public arsenals. It was in vain they appealed to the king. 
Their remonstrances were unheard. During the sitting of the Hun- 
garian diet of 1843-44, the district of Turopolya, in Croatia, addressed 
a petition to that assembly on this subject. The county of Zagrab, 
the largest county in Croatia, likewise addressed to the county of 
Pest in Hungary, February 20, 1846, a very earnest letter, relating 
the acts of illegality and violence which had been committed in that 
county, with the connivance and assistance of the authorities, and call- 
ing on the Hungarians, in the name of the ancient ties which bound 
the two countries, to join with them in earnestly petitioning the king 
for the redress of this injustice, their own appeals having been wholly 
without effect. 



222 

with a strong hand, in such a manner as circumstances may- 
require.'* The Austrian cabinet adopted each of these mea- 
sures in turn. The first was already in progress of preparation. 
Until their plans were matured for carrying the third into ex- 
ecution, it was necessary still to temporize. The good faith of 
the Hungarian ministry was not to be tampered with, but their 
credulity might be practised upon. They were, for a time, not 
less deceived than the rest of the nation. 

"On the 11th of April, Ferdinand gave in person, at Pres- 
burg, his solemn sanction to the laws which had been promul- 
gated in March. On the 10th of the following month, he is- 
sued a proclamation, addressed to the rebellious Croats and 
Servians, in which Jeilachich was denounced as a traitor, and 
deprived of his banship, and all his military employments. In 
this proclamation, Ferdinand himself exposes the futility of 
the accusations which had been brought against the Hunga- 
rians as oppressors of the other races. He upbraids the rebels 
with their treason, in the following terms : — 

" l We have been deceived in you, — in you, Croats and Sla- 
vonians, who, for eight hundred years, under the same crown, 
sharing the destinies of Hungary, have owed to this bond the 
constitutional freedom which you alone, among all Slavonian 
people, have been through a course of centuries in a condition 
to retain. 

" 'We find ourselves deceived in you, — you, who have not 
only always shared equally in all the rights and privileges of 
the Hungarian constitution, but also, by the favour of our illus- 
trious ancestors, in reward of your spotless fidelity, have been 
invested with greater privileges than any other subjects of our 
sacred Hungarian crown. 

" ' We have been deceived in you to whom the last diet of 
Hungary and its dependent states granted, agreeably to our 
royal will, a brotherly share in all the benefits of constitutional 
freedom and equality before the law. The right of constitu- 
tional representation has, with you, as in Hungary, been ex- 

* The young prince confesses to some scruples with regard to the 
first project. He suggests, that it might "perhaps" not bethought 
"suitable" for a government to abandon its subjects, "a portion of 
whom, at least, are well disposed, to all the horrors of an insurrection." 
It is probable that these plans did not originate with the Palatine, 
but were dictated to him at Vienna. 



223 

tended to the people, so that not only the nobility, but also the 
other inhabitants, and the frontier regiments, through their de- 
puties, may take part, as well in the general legislation as also 
in your municipal assemblies, and thus you yourselves, through 
your own immediate action, can forward your own prosperity. 
Hitherto the noble has had little share in the public burdens ; 
henceforward the uniform distribution of the same among all 
the inhabitants, without distinction of class, is established by 
law, and thereby an oppressive burden has been taken from 
your shoulders. 

" ' Your nationality and municipal rights, in regard to which 
an attempt has been made, by malicious, false reports, to in- 
spire you with apprehensions, are not in any way threatened ; 
on the contrary, they have been extended and strengthened, 
secured against all attacks ; for the use of your mother tongue 
has not only been secured to you by law in your schools and 
churches, for all future time, but has also been introduced into 
your public assemblies, in place of the Latin, hitherto in use. 

" ' Calumniators have endeavoured to persuade you that the 
Hungarian nation wishes to suppress your language, or to 
hinder its further development. We ourselves assure you these 
reports are entirely false. 

" ' For eight hundred years have you been united with Hun- 
gary ; during all this time, the legislature has acted with a re- 
gard to your nationality ; how could you, then, believe that this 
same legislature would now show itself hostile to your mother 
tongue, which it has protected for eight hundred years ? . . . 

" ' The law is holy, and must be holy. We have sworn by 
the living God, that we will preserve the integrity of our Hun- 
garian crown, that we will maintain and obey the constitution 
and the laws, and cause others to obey them.'' 

" This proclamation had the effect of confirming the Hun- 
garians in their false security. It had no other effect. Jella- 
chich continued to raise troops, and complete his preparations 
for the invasion of Hungary. The other agents of Austria in 
Southern Hungary incited the peasants with the hope of the 
rich plunder of the Hungarian towns and villages. The work 
of devastation began immediately after the promulgation of 
this edict. 

" On the opening of the diet, on the 5th of July, the Pala- 
tine, in the name of the king, expressed his reprobation of the 



224 

rebels in Croatia and Slavonia, who, as he said, had even dared 
to use the royal name, and to resist the laws under the pretext 
that they were not the free expression of the royal will. He 
assured them that it was his majesty's desire that the represent- 
atives of the nation should consider it their first duty to take 
the necessary measures for restoring the tranquillity of the 
country, for preserving the integrity of the Hungarian king- 
dom, and for maintaining the sacred inviolability of the law. 
With this view, he recommended them to bestow their earliest 
attention on the defence of the country and the state of the 
finances. He declared that the king regarded with signal dis- 
pleasure the audacious conduct of those who had ventured to 
assert that any act of disobedience to the law could be pleasing 
to his Majesty. 

" In the mean time the southern provinces of Hungary were 
already a prey to fire and massacre,* while the Austrian gen- 
erals looked quietly on. It was not until the 11th of July, 
that the nation was roused to a sense of its danger, and, on the 
motion of Kossuth, ordered a levy of men to defend the coun- 
try against invasion. 

" In August, the Austrian cabinet threw off the mask ; the 
imperial troops began to march towards Zagrab, and to place 
themselves under the command of Jellachich. In their reply to 
the remonstrances of the Hungarian diet, the ministry at Vien- 
na now spoke openly of the Croatian and Servian rebels as the 
brothers in arms of the imperial army. 

" On the 4th of September, the emperor addressed a letter 
to the same Jellachich whom, not two months before, he had 
denounced as a traitor, in which he speaks of the ' indubitable 
proofs of fidelity and attachment which the Freiherr von Jella- 
chich had repeatedly displayed since he has been named Ban of 
Croatia? 

" The Hungarians made yet one more attempt to avoid an 
open collision with the Austrian government. On the 9th of 

* An attempt was likewise made, by the emissaries from Vienna, 
to excite an insurrection in the North of Hungary, among the Slovacs ; 
but with little success. A band of marauders was, by the aid of money 
from Vienna, got together, who committed some depredations in the 
county of Trencsen ; but they were speedily suppressed. A company 
of three hundred of the Presburg National Guard was sufficient for this 
purpose. 



225 

September, a deputation of one hundred and sixty Hungarians, 
at whose head was Pazmandy, the president of the chamber 
of deputies, repaired to Vienna, to entreat the emperor of Aus- 
tria to show himself the king of Hungary, and 'to contribute to 
the rescue of the fatherland by throwing the weight of his roy- 
al authority into the scale.' The king drew from his pocket a 
written paper, and read them, in an indifferent voice, a cold and 
evasive answer. 

" The deputation returned to Pest, to announce to the Hun- 
garian people, that they were to rely only on themselves. On 
the same day, Jellachich, at the head of the imperial forces, 
passed the Drave. 

" It was thus that the war between Hungary and Austria be- 
gan. From this period, the eyes of the world have been turned 
upon Hungary. Our readers have yet fresh in their recollec- 
tion the scene of this war, in which the Hungarians extorted 
admiration even from their enemies, It is not our intention to 
retrace them here. We have designed only, in this rapid sketch, 
to place in a condensed form before those of our readers who 
had not, previous to the breaking out of the late contest, di- 
rected their attention towards Hungary, such a statement of 
the antecedent relations of that country with Austria as shall 
enable them to form an equitable judgment of the events of 
which they have been witness, and of those which the next de- 
cade is to develop." 



It may seem remarkable, that the History of the Crimes of 
the House of Austria should be closed just with the stirring 
up a war, which concentrates and epitomizes all the crimes of 
five hundred years, against a virtue, which, for eight hundred 
years, had been one long struggle for the development of the 
noblest constitution of the Eastern Continent, a Constitution 
thirteen times all but overthrown by despots, and thirteen times 
reinstated by the patriotic energy of its liberty and law-loving 
people. 

But the object of this compilation is especially to show, that 
the Austrian house has been acting, in the war of Hungary, 
wholly according to its nature ; for that its whole conduct from 
Rodolph downwards, with reference not merely to Hungary, 
but to every nation and province of a nation, with which it has 



226 

come into contact, demonstrates, that it is an enemy to all in- 
ternational law which deserves the name of Public Right ; and 
imperatively calls upon all constitutional nations, in self-defence, 
or, at least in defence of the principle which is their strength, 
to withdraw from it their support and countenance. 

It would be unjust to give less than a volume to the history 
of this war ; a war unrivalled since the days, when Athens and 
Sparta, at the gate of Europe, stemmed the millions of Asia, 
that were threatening to overwhelm the only spot on Earth, 
where Freedom was self-conscious and intelligent. 

Indeed, the historian cannot foil to see a certain parallel be- 
tween this crisis of the world's history, and that culminating 
point of antiquity, the world-renowned, time-honoured Persian 
war. For more than two thousand years had Syria, Babylon, 
Media, Nineveh, Egypt, Ethiopia and Persia been developing 
every resource of the gardens of the world, from the banks of the 
Nile to the Indus ; and they had formed a commercial web* of 
power and wealth, which stretched from China (the ancient Ser- 
ica) in the East, to the Gulf of Guinea, along the North of Africa 
to Spain, and thence coastwise to Britain on the West, and 
concentrated in their great capitals the material resources of the 
Earth, as may be discerned, with the eyes of the present day, 
upon the monuments that yet remain to astonish us by their 
colossal proportions, and their historical memorials, and by the 
gem cylinders, whose date seems as endless as their influence 
was deep.f At the end of the sixth century before Christ, those 
vast regions had been centralized by the military genius of 
Cyrus, and the administrative skill more than the military ge- 
nius of Darius Hystaspes, so that all their productions, and their 
inhabitants, with all their time and labour, physical strength 
and genius, were at his personal command.^ 
* At the same period, on the borders of this mighty empire, 
was a small state, not so large in area as the State of Rhode 
Island, in which dwelt a people, rich only in ideas, but ideas 
that had cherished the instinct of liberty into a divine inspira- 
tion ; for it had lifted them into the conception and faith, that 
intelligences finer than could be discerned with the gross 
material organs, and purer than could be brought into circum. 

* See Heeren's Researches among the monuments and concerning 
the commercial relations of the ancient nations ot Asia and Europe, 
f Landseer's Sabaean Researches. % Herodotus, § 89 of Thalia. 



227 

scription by the material forces with which men make war, 
were allied to them, and had received into their august com- 
panionship Hercules and Theseus, their heroes of labour and 
patriotism, and would not suffer Greeks to admit as equals, 
but empowered them to despise as barbarians, all who bore the 
form of men but had debased themselves from the stature of 
manliness, by slaving for another man, although he did com- 
mand the material resources of the Universe. 

The Persian power had not spared in its rapacity a few little 
commercial colonies which shared the blood and culture of 
Athens ; but indirectly, through its victoiy over Croesus, who 
was Grecian by culture if not by race, had made them also 
tributary, and included them in its centralised empire. A word 
from these colonies to Athens, intimating that it was neither 
pious nor Hellenic to allow a barbarian to lord it over a 
kindred people, with identical gods, — was enough to rouse up 
that little state, which had just developed the old free constitution 
of Theseus into Solon's republic, by the expulsion of the Pisis- 
tratidae, — and it rose, on the principle of a fraternity, and at- 
tacked " the Great King ; " provoking his vengeance and risk- 
ing in self-respect, the worst he could do. 

And when he did do his worst, and poured upon the devoted 
little state his hundreds of thousands, did it flinch ? No ! but 
strong in their gods, strong by the shade of Theseus,* whom, 
with the creative enthusiasm of a faith deeper than sense, and 
which raised the spiritual vision above the material, they saw 
visibly marshalling their bands, their ten thousand met and 
vanquished the hundred and ten thousand Persians in the one 
great battle of Marathon. And again, after ten years of rest 
from that defeat, when Darius's son led up his million (not a man 
less,f) was ^ n °t a ^ e to ra i se the sister states to intervene, 
on the mere principle that spiritual was not to be submitted 
to material forces ? And were not three hundred allies found 
who could deliberately choose to die on the nation's threshold 
as the barbarian was about to cross it, for the mere purpose of 
showing him the difference between the owners of a Penates- 
guarded homestead, and the bond-servants of a despot under 
whom no homestead was sacred ? And even when their little 
country was desolated, and their city burned, the temples of their 

* See Herodotus, 108 of Erato. f Herodotus. 



228 

gods not spared, and although no miraculous interposition had 
saved these consecrated places, did their faith and confidence 
falter ? Did they not rather rally on the sea, still confiding in the 
oracles of their god, which echoed the sentiment of their own 
hearts, that themselves, without a foot of land on the earth, were 
Athens ? And thus inspired, did they not vanquish a fleet three 
times as great as their own, a fleet in which were the mariners 
of Phoenicia ? And when, after a winter's rest, the selected three 
hundred thousand bravest of that invading million came down 
for another attack, led by the greatest captain of his nation, did 
not all the worshippers of the Grecian Olympus (where was 
embodied to their imaginations every distinctively human attri- 
bute, and the moral harmony of the Universe itself, as Phcebus 
Apollo) rally, presenting indeed numerically but one third the 
force, but, by that which was within, outmeasuring a thousand 
times the Persian three hundred thousand ? And almost at the 
first blow did they not destroy it, so that scarce one was left 
to go home and tell the tale ? Were they satisfied with even 
this ? Did not another twenty years of unwavering action on 
the same principle, by land and sea, end with a complete vic- 
tory, in which the son of the victor of Marathon, having ended 
the war ten years before, by the battle of the Eurymedon, dictated 
to the great king a peace, whose articles bore that no Persian 
should come within thirty miles of the Grecian seas, and that 
the colonies of the Greeks on the Asiatic coast should be free 
and self-governed ? 

So was it of old, with a nation whose gods were no greater 
or more beautiful than their own best thoughts, but just as 
great and just as beautiful as those best thoughts believed in 
and allowed to carry them whither they would, — which is the 
secret of the whole wonderful history. More than two thousand 
years have passed by, and we behold the material wealth and 
power of Europe combined against a nation, which bears to the 
Holy Alliance the same relation that Greece bore to Darius 
Hystaspes. 

Hungary combines in this modern time the cause of both 
Ionia and Athens, and Nicholas of Russia leads the conserva- 
tive nations against her, like Darius of old. Single-handed, has 
she already done battle on a hundred Marathons. There fc 
nothing more wonderful in human history than Hungary in 
1849 retreating into the heart of her own dominion, while the 



229 

armies of Russia and Austria, with the Serbs and Croats which 
the latter power had infuriated to join them, form the cordon 
round Hungary, contracting it every day, and crowding the 
nation nearer to each other, like a troop of hunters who are 
driving in to the death of their game. The Hungarians stand 
back to back, facing the foe all round, determined to shed their 
last blood rather than yield their right to national independence. 
But this is not all. In that devoted phalanx, which, unlike the 
phalanx of old, is a circle bristling round its whole circum- 
ference and threatening death to the hundred thousands who 
menace it, is an angel of life. He bears a silver trumpet, 
through which he speaks, and the ringing music turns the stat- 
ues of men into statues of the soul. They are no longer vulgar 
riesh and blood ; they are transfigured with the spirit of liberty 
and law. At the word of command, they start into action. 
The iron circle breaks : North, South, East, West, shoot forth 
thousands to their work* They break the contracting cordon 
that was pressing them in, though it were deep by tens of thou- 
sands of the paid soldiers of despotism, and they return on their 
steps ; and they sweep from their native land the invaders, till 
hardly a foot of an enemy is left to profane the holy ground : 

Aye call it holy ground! 

The spot whereon they trod — 
They keep unstained what there they found — 

Freedom to worship God. 

A second time in the world's history have spirit and matter 
met on the battle-field, at fearful apparent odds, — and spirit 
triumphed ! 

Sparta was not at Marathon. She was wisely at home, per- 
forming the holy rites that had been handed down through 
noble generations, and consecrating laws which guarded liberty. 
But she came up, when Marathon was won, to rejoice in the 
victory, and to pledge her future cooperation. Nobly was4he 
pledge redeemed at Thermopylae and at Platsea. 

But where was Hungary's Sparta, even when the vanquished 
enemy rallied in still greater numbers and again stormed in 
upon her ? Did not the Earth contain an older republic, " the 

* See Dr. Teft's Hungary and Kossuth, p. 337. 



230 



model republic," that might send a new Leonidas with soni^ 
devoted " three hundred" out of whose bosoms should go a fire 
that should pass with lightning quickness through the o-olden 
linked chain of despotism which binds the Holy Alliance together, 
and make it a rope of ashes ? And if it were not enough to show 
the Czar of Russia a new Thermopylae, to rally to a new Sala- 
mis and a new Plata^a ? 



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